In the Land of the Blind, the OneEyed Man is King
by KKLax13
Summary: What was supposed to be an exciting winter vacation for the Cohens plus one turns life-threatening for Ryan. Rated T just in case.
1. Chapter 1

Obvious FYI: I don't own anything that even remotely has to do with the O.C.!

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Ryan was looking forward to the end of school. Not only was 1:50 pm the end of the day, it was the conclusion of his first semester at Harbor. As he sat ignoring the teacher in his last period class, he briefly reflected on what had happened the past four months. Things hadn't always gone exactly according to plan, but at least it was better than life in Chino.

The bell finally rang and Ryan was the first out the door and heading for the lockers. Not long after he was done tearing apart his locker, Seth came bounding around the corner.

"Hey, little brother," Seth joked, slapping Ryan on the back. "You ready to become probably the most preppy touristos in all of Italy? Can you handle being one of those annoyingly-horrible skiers, camera trigger-happy, map and Italian/American pocket dictionary-reading sightseers?" Seth was laughing.

"I get it, I get it," Ryan couldn't help but laugh as well. "To answer what I am assuming is your underlying question, yes, I am excited for Thursday. However, if you keep this up, I am pretending not to know you for the whole trip. Lets go," Ryan finished as he shut his locker.

Sandy and Kirsten had won at one of Kirsten's silent auctions a one-week stay at a time share just outside of Venice, Italy. The family had plans to leave in two days and Kirsten had practically every hour of the vacation planned with tours, shows, and as Seth appropriately named them, 'snow-filled activities.' What made Sandy happy was that he could tell Ryan was looking forward to the trip. The lawyer was apprehensive that his son might feel awkward traveling in such accommodations, but was relieved when the teen showed excitement. It was bound to be a memorable trip.

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Thursday finally rolled around and an airport shuttle came early in the morning to drive the family to the airport. Ryan slept the whole trip, but felt strangely awake upon arriving at the airport. Seth picked up on his brother's apprehension and questioned him.

"Bro, you're not going to go all _Rain Man _at the terminal, are you? No screaming and banging your head. Although I do respect Dustin Hoffman's scene, I promise, the plane's not that bad." Seth nodded his head in the direction of the gate. Ryan knew Seth was right.

"I know. I've never been on a plane before, you know that. Just forget it," Ryan tried to cover up his feelings.

"Dude, come on. The trip's gonna be great. I've got my laptop and a DVD of _The Godfather_ to watch on the plane. I figured it'd get us in the Italian mood. Maybe not so much the skiing part, but the accents and stuff. And plus I've heard it's a decent movie." Seth pointed to his carry-on bag.

"You've never seen _The Godfather_, Seth?" Somehow that didn't surprise Ryan.

"What, and you have?" Seth looked genuinely surprised.

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Finally, after a total of three hours in delays, sixteen hours in actual flight time, and one flight change, the Cohens plus one arrived in Venice. Sandy picked up the rental car and the family loaded their many suitcases into the trunk.

"Geeze, Kirsten. What do you have in here?" Sandy grunted as he lifted one of Kirsten's over-stuffed floral suitcases.

"Well, you know, Sandy. It's Italy. Everyone looks good here. I just am keeping up with the crowd," Kirsten responded with a mocked look of innocence.

"It would be a shame to pass up this moment. Mom, I believe you should say, 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do.' Totally appropriate since we're in Italy. Come on, give that to me. Ryan? Yes?" Seth was now on his second wind and was overtired.

Ryan just rolled his eyes at Seth's comment and didn't return the high-five Seth was offering. Ryan was solely concentrating on a bed calling his name in the little villa.

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After what seemed like an eternity to Ryan, the family reached the villa entitled 'Bella.' The cottage stood up to its name. It looked beautiful with the snow all around it. Icicles hung from the porch, and the trees surrounding the small property were bent with the weight of the snow, almost as if they were bowing down to the family. There was a small, lattice car port on the side of the house where Sandy parked the rental. Kirsten was already using half her memory card taking pictures of the gorgeous landscape.

"Lets get this stuff inside and then we can rest, ok, boys?" Sandy looked at his two teenage sons, both of whom were now nodding off.

"What's this?" Seth turned around a large and heavy bucket in the corner of the car port. The label was in Italian. When he opened the lid, Seth saw a bunch of what looked like large grains of salt.

"_That_ must have been what Tom Jackson meant." Sandy now understood what the owner of the villa told him. "That's ice melt. It's kind of like sand and treated salt mixed together. Tom said to put it on the walkways and the outside stairs in the front and back. Apparently there's black ice everywhere. Little different than Newport, huh?" Sandy smiled at Seth.

"Can we just do that later, please?" Seth whined. "All my contract says is put the suitcase in the bedroom. Then I'm sleeping. We can do this ice melt thing tomor—" Seth's protest was cut off by a loud crash from the front of the house. Sandy, Seth, and Kirsten bolted out of the car port just in time to see the ghastly sight.

Ryan had been carrying his suitcase up the front walkway and made his way to use the key that Sandy gave him. Not much to his surprise, rolling suitcases weren't made for un-shoveled, icy walkways and stairs, so Ryan picked up the bag in order to get it the few feet to the door.

As Ryan made it to the top step, his right foot slipped from under him and knocked his body over his suitcase. Ryan's grip left the handle, sending the bag down the stairs and making an echoing noise on the stone walkway. Thrown off by the sudden movement, his left foot slipped and before he could catch himself or brace his arms, he fell forward, smacking his head on the railing.

The icy, black railing quivered with the force of Ryan's head. Snow that once covered the banister was now falling onto Ryan's body. Horrified, Kirsten, Sandy, and Seth ran over to the fallen teen, nearly slipping themselves.

"Ryan?!" Kirsten bent down to study her son. Blood was running down the left side of Ryan's pale face and collecting in his closed eyes.

"Ryan? Talk to me! Ryan?" Sandy was gently shaking Ryan's hand, afraid to move him. Sandy's voice grew more desperate as he received no response.

"Dad?" Seth sounded panicked. "What do we do? Do they have 911 here?"

Kirsten realized Seth was right. What were they supposed to do? Right now a secluded villa in the hills of Venice sounded like the worst idea possible. After a terrifying moment of indecision, Sandy stood up.

"We drive him into town and ask for help," Sandy declared.

"What?! Sandy, we can't move him!" Kirsten turned towards Ryan. "He's barely breathing!"

"Well we can't stay here! I don't even know who to call! I don't even know the word 'help' in Italian! Seth, go bring the car around," Sandy demanded as he threw the keys at Seth who ran as fast and carefully as he could back to the car port. "Kirsten, lets get this snow off him."

As the two began to clean off Ryan, Kirsten tied her scarf around Ryan's head in an effort to slow the bleeding. Kirsten's tears were spilled over the edge when she saw how quickly the white fabric became saturated with the crimson blood.

Careful not to move him more than necessary, Kirsten and Sandy laid Ryan in the back seat of the rental car. Sandy ran around to the driver's seat and Seth jumped into the passenger's side. Kirsten sat in the back with Ryan's head in her lap, putting additional pressure on the wound, feeling as though she were literally holding his head together. Ryan still hadn't stirred. The only consolation in the situation was the slight rise and fall of Ryan's chest giving some kind of reassurance to Kirsten that her son was still breathing.

"Hurry, Sandy!" Kirsten cried in between the tears that fell on Ryan's bloody face.


	2. Chapter 2

Obvious FYI: I don't own anything that even remotely has to do with The O.C.!

Thank you for the reviews! Please keep them coming!

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Sandy drove as fast as he could down the narrow pathway that the Italians called a street. More than once, the car slipped on the ice and Sandy had to swerve to avoid fishtailing. Kirsten was talking to Ryan the whole time. She was mumbling words of comfort perhaps more to herself than to her son.

"How's he doing?" Sandy asked, looking in the rear view mirror, hoping to get a glimpse of Ryan.

"He's still bleeding!" Kirsten replied with desperation in her voice as she gently lifted a piece of the scarf which she immediately regretted. From what Kirsten could gather, Ryan had a deep gash, easily five inches long, right above his left ear and across his temple. Blood was spilling everywhere and all Kirsten could do was wipe it away from his eyes and mouth. The scarf around Ryan's head was now almost all red.

After what seemed like ages, they finally reached the center of the small town, and Sandy pulled up to what looked like a busy grocery store. It was the closest building he could find. Sandy jumped out of the car and ran into the store, nearly knocking over a little old lady carrying a paper bag full of food.

"Please! Please help me! Do you speak English?!" Sandy charged up to a well dressed man who simply stared at the frantic father. "English! Do you speak English?!" Sandy yelled again, this time taking the man by the lapels. The Italian stepped back and retorted something Sandy didn't understand.

Sandy turned to another man. Everyone began to stare at the scene. The cashiers stopped scanning and the customers stood in awe at the crazy foreigner. Sandy was yelling again and waving his hands in an effort to stress the seriousness of the situation. A man who he guessed must be the manager came walking swiftly up to him.

"Please! You have to help me! My son is in the car. He hit his head there's blood everywhere! We need the hospital. Please does anyone speak English?!" Sandy didn't care how big of a scene he was making. Tears of frustration began to well in his eyes and he let out a strangled cry and turned away from the manager's grip.

"English you say?" a young boy with a moderate accent appeared from the back of the crowd. Sandy's head snapped up.

"Yes! Please! You speak English?" Sandy ran towards the boy.

"I learn English in school. What do you need? Your son?" the boy was trying to understand the situation.

"I need the hospital! We need help! He's in the car. Where is the hospital?" Sandy was talking so fast he was nearly spitting.

"Where you car?" The boy asked as he tried to keep pace with Sandy as they ran outside into the cold. The two ran the short distance down the sidewalk.

"Follow this road down to end. Left turn. Signs say, 'O' for hospital. Follow arrows. Not big far. Ok?" the boy finished. He was confident in his directions, but hoped he conveyed it correctly.

"Yes, thank you!" Sandy called as he jumped back into the car.

"You're welcome! Hope son be good!" the boy's voice was lost in the wind and the loud noise the car made as it spun through the snowy street.

"Kirsten?" Was all that Sandy could say when he pulled the car back onto the street.

"Nothing," Kirsten replied as she kept squeezing her son's hand. Seth looked almost as white as the snow. Fear showed sharply across his face and his eyes were wide. No witty remarks or jokes. The situation was becoming more and more real to him the longer Ryan stayed un-responsive.

All that Sandy could focus on was the road. He didn't allow himself to become mesmerized by the beautiful snowflakes falling onto the windshield. When was the last time he'd driven in snow?

Somehow 'not big far' seemed like the longest trip of the Cohens' lives. Sandy had turned at least seven times following the blessed 'O' signs. Finally Seth spotted what appeared to be a small hospital. This time, both Sandy and Seth jumped out of the car leaving Kirsten still putting pressure on Ryan's head.

Sandy was bracing himself for a similar situation to the grocery store. He felt even more helpless not knowing how to communicate his son's dire situation. A nurse walked by and Sandy grabbed her arm, startling her.

"Please, you have to help us. My son's in the car. He's unconscious and bleeding. He hit his head. Do you speak English?" Sandy recognized the look of confusion on her face.

"English?" she replied.

"Yes! English! Yes?" Sandy felt like shaking her.

She muttered something in Italian and called for a nearby employee. Someone who Seth decided was an orderly came up to the nurse and conversed in Italian.

"I can translate. I am Chaska. What is wrong?" the orderly with a strong accent and a very literal cadence questioned.

"We need a doctor! My brother is in the car bleeding to death and no one in this fucking town speaks English!" Seth finally let his anger out. Sandy glared at him but said nothing.

"I will get doctors," Chaska nodded as he ran off down the hall. Soon two doctors and two nurses came running towards the emergency entrance with a gurney.

The group ran to the car and Sandy flung open the back door surprising Kirsten. The medical staff were shouting in Italian when they got one look at Ryan.

"What happened? What's his name?" Chaska asked Sandy.

"Ryan. He slipped on the icy stairs. We didn't put the ice melt on. He hit his head badly on the railing," Sandy replied. Chaska translated as the doctors loaded Ryan onto the gurney.

"How long has he been unconscious?" was translated.

"About 30 minutes now. His head hasn't stopped bleeding. Please help him!" Kirsten cried. Chaska relayed the information. One doctor was unwrapping the saturated scarf from Ryan's head while the other was checking the teen's pupils. A nurse was unbuttoning Ryan's jacket. More Italian shouting made Seth cry. He felt so helpless.

"Follow us," Chaska called as the doctors wheeled Ryan into the hospital. They whisked Ryan down the hall leaving a stunned Cohen family.

"What's happening?!" Kirsten asked panicking at the fact that her critically injured son was being rushed away from her. Who was she to know what they were doing to him?

"Your son is very hurt. They are taking him to a room to examine him more. They are most likely going to air lift him to a hospital in Venice. We aren't a big facility and your son needs intense care," Chaska replied putting his hand on Kirsten's shoulder in a comforting way that somehow relaxed Kirsten. "I'm sorry. I will go find out more and update you." With that, the slow-talking orderly left.

Seth sank into a chair in the waiting room and his parents sat down beside him, neither of them talking. Not too long later, Chaska returned with a clipboard in his hands.

"They are taking your son to St. Francis Hospital in Venice. He is in very bad shape," Chaska said grimly as he read from a paper where he had scribbled notes from the doctors. "He has a skull fracture and they suspect he has bleeding in his head. They cannot operate here or do further tests so they are going to air lift him to the city. This is a form, you have to sign for it. Please do this now," Chaska continued as he held out a pen for Sandy to sign the consent form. Sandy was happy to see that it was written in English. "We have many languages for forms," Chaska smiled as he noticed Sandy's understanding. Sandy nodded in appreciation.

The Cohens followed Chaska's directions to St. Francis hospital in Venice. The trip was nearly an hour and was spent in silence as Sandy, Seth, and Kirsten were lost in thought.

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As soon as Ryan arrived in the helicopter, commotion was all around him. He hadn't responded to any stimuli the whole journey. His right pupil was blown and his left was sluggish. A translator had been brought down to the emergency room to try and coax Ryan back to consciousness.

"Ryan? Ryan can you hear me?" the American nurse called. No response. "Ryan, move your hand if you can hear me." Nothing. Not like he could have anyway as he was being prepped for a CT scan next door and was being intubated.

The CT scan revealed a major lesion on his left temporal lobe. There was a severe skull depression around the area as well and pressure was building up through the left side of his head. Before the Cohens even crossed the Venice city line, Ryan was in surgery.

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Sandy parked the rental car in the hospital parking lot and the family ran through the hospital doors, desperately looking for someone who spoke English. It was now after three a.m. California time and they were all running on fumes.

All three of them quickly found the front desk and luckily it wasn't long before an English speaking employee directed them to the surgical waiting room promising further information.

That information came six hours later when two doctors and a translator tiredly emerged from the operating room. Sandy and Kirsten jumped up, the latter waking Seth.

"How is he?" Kirsten whispered. She followed the doctors' leads and sat down.

"Ryan is seriously injured," the translator began as he listened to the doctors' reports. "The impact of the banister fractured his skull along the side of his head right here," the Italian doctor pointed to his own head, marking with his finger right above his left ear. "He also has a fracture right here." The doctor pointed right near his left eye.

Tears slowly rolled down Kirsten's cheeks. Sandy just stared at the translator and Seth's eyes were wide as he looked at the carpet.

"The fracture caused a bit of his temporal bone to depress into the brain causing a large gathering of blood in one of the protective layers of the brain, also referred to as a serious subdural hematoma. His brain also swelled significantly on the left side. As you know, we operated to relieve the pressure and take care of the bleed." The translator stopped as he looked at the doctors for more information.

"What?" Sandy suddenly caught on as he looked between the doctors and the translator.

"Ryan has sustained a major head injury. You need to understand the seriousness of the situation. There will be damage. Right now we are unclear how much, but he is in critical condition. We are also unsure of the amount of vision he will regain in his left eye. The skull is fractured around his eye socket which is now pressed on an optical nerve. We repaired the fracture but the outcome of the trauma will be decided when the swelling goes down." The translator stopped again as the doctors looked at the family.

"Can we see him?" Kirsten asked quietly.

"Ryan is in recovery now but will be moved to our intensive care unit soon. The situation is very serious and the chances of him making it through the night are low. However he has youth on his side and we were able to get a bit of a reaction out of him after surgery," the translator continued, looking at the doctors and the Cohens.

"Now what?" Seth finally spoke.

"We wait and pray," Sandy answered.


	3. Chapter 3

Obvious FYI: I don't own anything that even remotely has to do with The O.C.!

Thank you for reviewing! Please keep them coming!

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The first 24 hours of Ryan's hospitalization were the scariest of the Cohens' lives. He was touch and go and just the sight of him made Kirsten go weak at the knees. Ryan was intubated and hooked up to what looked like half the machines in all of Italy. His head was a white turban of bandages, the color almost matching his pale face. His left eye was swollen shut and bruised and multiple, small rows of stitches crowded the area. His right eyelid looked almost gray with pain and the lack of any facial movements symbolized the deep coma he was in.

It made Sandy tear to see the lack of responsiveness in his son's body. Although Ryan hadn't been in Newport for very long, it was unnatural to think of him anywhere else. Sandy couldn't help but think that had Ryan still been living in Chino, this accident wouldn't have happened. It was ironic that the family that had given him a second chance was now watching him fight for the very life they sought to protect. All they could do was watch.

The Italian ICU rules were the same as the American ones—only one parent at a time and everyone else one at a time for ten minutes on the hour, although the staff took pity on the poor American family and bent the rules for the first few hours. One of the nurses assigned to Ryan's case spoke very good English. After letting them sit with Ryan for the rest of the night, the nurse Isabella helped the Cohens find a hotel right near the hospital where Sandy and Seth stayed while Kirsten took the first shift of watching Ryan.

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Three days later, all three Cohens were once again present in Ryan's room. The nurses noticed some spasms in Ryan's left hand and alerted the family right away. His right hand was severely flexed at the wrist and his fingers were curled inwards, a sign, the doctor said of a significant injury to the left side of his brain. But by that afternoon, Ryan was showing signs of life.

"Seth, ask him to squeeze your hand," Isabella the nurse encouraged as two neurologists looked on.

"Hey, Ry. Squeeze my hand, buddy, come on." Seth looked from his brother to the nurse who nodded for him to continue. "Ryan do you feel me touching you? Just squeeze my hand." Seth lightly pressed on his brother's left hand. Nothing. "Bro, come on. Now is not the time to act macho. This isn't as minty as it seems." The doctors looked at each other, wondering what 'minty' meant.

Seth was about to give up when he felt a slight pressure in his palm. Everyone noticed.

"Ryan?" Kirsten knelt down by the bed as one doctor flashed his penlight again into his patient's eyes. "Ryan can you hear us? Come on, honey."

Another twitch of his hand made Sandy laugh in disbelief. Seth squeezed Ryan's hand again and this time was rewarded with a small yet significant pressure.

"Ryan can you push your foot against my hand? Pretend you are pressing the gas," the nurse commanded as the doctor put his hand on Ryan's foot. To everyone's happiness, Ryan obliged and both feet were equal.

"I think that was the key, telling him to 'push the gas.' Driving's his thing. Cars are kinda what brought us all together." Seth smiled down at his brother, not noticing that no one understood his reference.

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A physical therapist named Conchetta entered the room later that day and found Kirsten asleep next to her son. Conchetta's English was decent, but a translator accompanied her nonetheless.

"I am sorry to wake you, Mrs. Cohen," the therapist began. Kirsten jolted awake like she always did when one of the medical staff came in to check on Ryan.

"It's fine," Kirsten replied as she stood up. "I was just dozing. Is everything ok?"

"Yes, it is ok. It is nice to meet you. My name is Conchetta and I am a physical therapist. Chanel is my translator just in case." All three women shook hands. "I heard Ryan was moving around earlier?"

"Yes, he was," Kirsten replied proudly. "He was squeezing my other son's hand and he was moving his feet for the doctors. Thank you for coming."

"That's great news," Conchetta continued sincerely. She then made her way around to the side of the bed and began to examine Ryan's face. "They are going to do reconstruction, no?" she asked Kirsten.

"Um, yes, yes Dr. Caparelli plans to do it soon. At least that's what the translator said," Kirsten looked to the door for a moment in disbelief at how much trust she put in the translators. "I think they're waiting for some more swelling to go down before they fix his cheek. Although it does look much better than it did when he got out of the first surgery."

Conchetta nodded. She gently tapped Ryan on the shoulder, unsure of how much of a response she would get out of the teen.

"Ryan? Ryan I need you to listen to me. Can you follow my directions? Ryan I'm a physical therapist and I am going to help you. Your mother is here, too and she wants you to get better, so you need to show off here." Conchetta gently rubbed her fist on Ryan's sternum, only enough to elicit a slight response. She was rewarded when she saw Ryan's left hand twitch.

Kirsten smiled at the translator in the corner.

"Ryan I am going to put something in your hand. I want you to grab it, ok?" Conchetta did just as she explained as she placed a small, plastic stick resembling a Lincoln Log into Ryan's hand. Nothing happened. "Ryan can you feel the stick?" Conchetta pressed harder into her patient's palm. Finally, his fingers wrapped around the object.

Kirsten stood up and came to the other side of the bed. "Honey I am so proud of you!"

"Ok, Ryan now let go," the physical therapist coached. Right away the tired fingers released their hold on the object and flopped back onto the bed. Conchetta laughed. "I can see that I am working the poor American boy so hard!"

Kirsten rubbed Ryan's right hand before Conchetta picked it up and examined it, muttering to herself in Italian.

"Ryan can you open up this hand?" the PT tapped Ryan's right hand in an attempt to have him straighten his fingers, something she knew was nearly impossible at this point. Her suspicions were correct when she saw no reply.

Kirsten looked a little disappointed but was reassured when the translator said the action wasn't expected. Conchetta continued with a few more exercises, saying she would know more when the breathing tube was removed, a procedure slated to take place the following day. Relatively speaking, it was a good day for Ryan.

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Seth and Sandy came by that night and were ecstatic to hear of Ryan's progress. It had been a rough three days and finally some assurance was in sight. As his parents discussed the situation further, Seth excused himself saying he was going to find the bathroom.

Seth had no such intentions. What he really was in search of was a young, beautiful nurse he had seen the other day around this time. He had looked up a few phrases in his Italian/American dictionary back at the hotel and he hoped to catch her attention. Any ties he had to Summer were ignored. Angelina, as Seth saw her nametag read, was going to get him through this.

Just as Seth was about to turn back and give up hope, he saw the nurse at the desk writing some notes in various charts. Seth pulled out the note card giving it one last look at his sentences. He figured that he had no reputation here in Venice and what did he have to lose? His vacation was already shot to Hell.

He tried his hand at Italian, but it translated not exactly as he hoped.

"Hello, nurse." He glanced at the note card. "I think you pretty, _are _pretty." Glance. "My name is Seth and I am from America." Glance and double take. "My brother is hurt but I am strong for him because I am masculine American." Stare for a long time. "My friends at home say I have much confidence and am good sport player. Will you, pretty nurse, talk me?" Seth looked up from the card he was holding and gazed into her beautiful, brown eyes.

She replied in rapid Italian knowing full well that he wouldn't understand. She was laughing to herself when she saw Seth's blank stare. She motioned to him to follow her. Seth couldn't believe the response.

They walked back down the hallway past Ryan's room and she led him to a water fountain. She poured him a cup of water then patted him on the shoulder, smiled and left. Seth stared at her as she walked away. She turned around and waved softly. Seth waved back with his mouth wide open looking like an idiot. What just happened?

"Angelina," a nurse pulled her friend into the female staff bathroom. "Was that the skinny American boy?" she asked in Italian.

"Yes, did you hear him?" Angelina laughed kindly.

"Aren't you going to let him know that you speak English?" the other nurse asked as she shook her head and laughed.

"Not yet," Angelina replied with an innocent grin on her face.


	4. Chapter 4

Obvious FYI: I don't own anything that even remotely has to do with The O.C.!

Thank you for reviewing! Please keep them coming!

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By the fifth day of Ryan's hospital stay, he was taken off the respirator and his eyes began to flutter. He was still responding well with toe wiggling and grasping of his left hand. Conchetta, a translator, and a neurologist came in the room that afternoon to further evaluate his progress.

"Hello, Ryan," a young girl translated for the doctor. "You probably don't remember me but I was one of the doctors who you saw when you first came here. I bet you're happy to get rid of that tube? I hear you've been pulling at it," the translator smiled at the doctor's comments. "Are you awake, Ryan? Squeeze my hand if you are awake." Nothing. "Ok, Ryan if you can hear me, I'm going to press on your thumb ok?" the doctor pushed her own thumb into Ryan's and right away the teen pulled his hand away.

"I think he's awake!" Sandy, who was on 'Ryan rotation,' exclaimed with a smile.

"Ok, I've got your attention," the translator continued to talk for Dr. Di Francesca. "Ryan can you stick out your tongue for me?" Everyone could see Ryan's mouth move a bit but nothing more. "You're doing great, Ryan. Try again." More movement.

"Ryan, come on, you can do it," Conchetta chimed in. "Move your tongue for us, yes?"

There. Finally Ryan's tongue could be seen slightly poking out of his mouth.

"That is very good!" the translator started again. "I am now going to put my fingers on your neck and I want you to swallow, ok?" the doctor put two of her fingers on Ryan's Adam's apple. "Go ahead and swallow, Ryan."

It took a few more encouraging words to get any reaction but the result was worth the wait as is larynx elevated and depressed properly. Perhaps the biggest accomplishment of the day was when Ryan was able to cough on command. By doing so, he demonstrated that his glottis was moving accordingly which ruled out damage to major nerves. Although it was hard for Sandy to understand, Ryan was making amazing progress. Ryan's recovery would be a long series of baby steps.

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The next day was New Year's Eve and Ryan went back into surgery early that morning to reconstruct the damaged area around his left cheek, eye, and ear. The swelling around the area had lessened significantly and the surgeons deemed the operating time as 'now or never.' That left the Cohens with eight to ten hours of thinking and praying time.

The prognosis for Ryan was a stay at a long-term rehab facility following successful surgery. He had many skills to relearn and much strength regain which required intense physical, occupational, and speech therapies, however none of the Cohens thought anything less of Ryan.

Seth was thinking about school. Their 'vacation' in Italy was technically over in two days and Harbor would reopen its doors two days later. What would happen when he went back without Ryan? Seth hadn't told anyone about Ryan's accident yet and hadn't picked up his cell phone once while in Italy, save for answering his parents' calls. Ryan's cell phone was in his backpack, and Seth noticed multiple missed calls, mostly from Marissa. Seth would have to call someone tonight.

"So honey listen," Sandy began, looking at Kirsten. "Seth and I went noticed this small specialty grocery store this morning and we were thinking of having take out New Year's Eve dinner here in the hospital, all four of us later tonight." He took her hand on his lap.

"That sounds great. I bet we can get them to bend the rules again," Kirsten smiled. "They all have certainly taken a great liking to Ryan."

"Yah, no kidding," Seth chimed in, shaking his head. "So jealous. He's semi-conscious and he still gets the girls."

"Speaking of girls," Sandy began looking at his healthy son, "did you call Marissa or anyone? I'm sure she'd like to hear about this. You know she'll notice when Ryan doesn't come back to school…"

"I haven't called anyone." Seth paused. "Have you?" he continued, looking from one parent to the other.

"I called your grandfather," Kirsten admitted. "I called him right after you two left the first night. I told him not to tell anyone, but I'm sure half the town knows." Kirsten trailed off, wondering what she started.

"Tom Jackson called asking how we were liking the villa. I told him that the vacation was more than we expected, and then hung up. At least that's the truth," Sandy quickly added as he got a look from his wife.

"Seth why don't you go call Marissa now. We've still got some time before Ryan comes out of surgery," Kirsten replied calmly, patting him on the knee.

Seth nodded and offered a small smile. Taking a deep breath, he pulled his cell phone out of his jacket pocket and went around the corner to dial Marissa's number.

"Seth!" Marissa's voice could be heard after five rings. Seth could tell there were multiple people in the background. "Seth _what _are you guys doing over there? I've called Ryan like twenty times and he better not be ignoring me! Put him on the phone. I bet he's right next to you, isn't he? He's probably laughing at me."

"Trust me, he's not laughing," Seth said sharply. He could hear Marissa take a quick breath.

"What do you mean?" She was interested why Seth's voice sent a chill down her spine.

"Marissa, have you heard anything from Caleb Nicol by any chance?" Seth looked up and down the hall to see if anyone was listening.

"No," Marissa replied, her eyes squinting in confusion. "Why?"

"Look, Ryan had an accident. The very first day we were here—"

"Oh my God what kind of accident?" Marissa squealed. Seth could tell that the noise in the background had died down suddenly.

"He hit his head on the banister outside the house we were staying in. He slipped and he, well, he's really hurt, Marissa." It felt weird for Seth to say it out loud.

"How bad? He's going to be ok, though. Right? Right?!" She repeated after no answer from Seth.

"He's in surgery again. For a second time. He still hasn't really woken up yet…it's been six days and he's still semi out of it."

"Six days!" Marissa didn't know what to think. Her boyfriend was lying in the hospital thousands of miles away and hadn't really woken up yet—why hadn't anyone called her? On the other hand, _her boyfriend was lying in the hospital thousands of miles away and hadn't really woken up yet!_

"Yah. They said that if the surgery goes well, then he'd stay here a few more days and then go to a rehab facility," Seth recounted.

"In Italy? He's coming back to Newport, right, Seth?" Marissa began to panic.

"They want him to stay here for a few weeks until he's ok enough to travel. Then he'll continue rehab back home somewhere I guess," Seth finished dejectedly. There was a pause.

"Is he, like, you know…"

"Is he _what,_ Marissa?" Seth knew exactly what she meant but was appalled that she'd ask.

"Well, you know. Like, will he get better? Or is he…well you said he's still out of it. Is he going to stay like that? Will he still be Ryan? Seth you're scaring me." Hundreds of thoughts were running through her head.

"Well _physically _they aren't sure if he's going to be able to see out of his right eye. I guess the bone around his eye and ear area was messed up so they're fixing it now. They said he'd have balance problems because of it. Maybe permanently. He's got a lot to re-learn. It's going to take months, Marissa." Seth sank down against the wall, closing his eyes as he pressed his head back on the cool cement. He didn't go into further detail.

"Well, when he comes out of surgery, tell him I'm thinking of him?" Marissa wasn't sure how to reply to Seth's differential. "Wait, here's Summer. She wants to talk to you. Call me later."

"Cohen!" Summer grabbed the phone before Seth could protest. "What is Marissa saying? I can hear her. What is going on?"

"Look, don't go spreading it around, ok? I can picture rumors flying everywhere. Ryan had an accident on the first day here, actually the first five minutes here. He's been in the hospital with a really bad head injury, alright?" Seth was getting angry.

"Oh my God. Cohen. When is he coming back?" Summer replied softly.

"A few weeks I think. Just, can we not talk about this now. You heard what you need to." Seth knew his comment was a little harsh, but didn't care. The past week was the worst of his life. Ryan was the one in physical pain, but Seth was taking the brunt of the mental unrest. What next?

"I understand. How much longer will _you _be there? I know Ryan's staying, but are you coming back for school?" Summer talked in a soothing voice.

"I think once Ryan gets settled my dad and I are coming back. My mom is taking time off from work to be with him. I won't miss much school. I'll call you tomorrow. Happy New Year." Seth hung up, not believing a word of his last statement.

"Seth?" a voice came from down the hall. Seth's head whipped around to see Angelina walking towards him. "Seth, I heard the last bit of your phone call. I'm sorry, I was walking by."

"Wait a minute, you speak English?!" Seth was bewildered.

"Yes, I'm sorry. You were so cute. It was fun to see you try to impress me all those times. I lived in America for five years while my father's job transferred him to New York. But I've been back in Venice for a while. It's ok to talk about your brother, you know."

"So for the past week you let me speak like an idiot? I've done more research with that dictionary than I've ever done for school! I gave you my last piece of chocolate yesterday!" Seth wasn't mad. He was embarrassed and laughing. He stood up.

"Please forgive me. Come on, I'll walk you back. Ryan should be done soon." She looked at Seth and saw tears well in his eyes. She stopped walking and squared his shoulders to her. "You be strong, Seth Cohen. You told me that you were a 'masculine American.' Lets see that. It'll be ok. Just wait. I've only been here a few years, but I've seen many cases like Ryan's. Your family is great to him, and that makes a bigger difference than you'll ever know."

Seth nodded slightly. "I know."

"You be strong for him, yes?" Angelina pulled Seth into a hug as he let six days worth of tears flow steadily down his face.

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Ryan made it through the surgery with flying colors. Although he would now have about twenty degrees of vision in his left eye at best, the surgeons were able to reconstruct the socket as well as to be expected. The damage to his inner ear was not as severe as they once thought, yet Ryan still would have to work hard to regain balance. The incisions were made mostly from the inside out so there was minimal scaring, something Seth was sure Ryan would be happy about.

Sandy had gotten the take-out he promised and the three Cohens ate while they watched the sedated fourth member of their family. The news was positive about Ryan's surgery yet spending the holiday in the hospital wasn't exactly according to plan. It was going to be a long year, but, as Seth proclaimed to his parents after his talk with Angelina, _bring it on._

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Depressing, I know, sorry. Happiness to come! Please keep reading and reviewing!


	5. Chapter 5

Obvious FYI: I don't own anything that even remotely has to do with The O.C.!

Thank you for reviewing! Please keep them coming!

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I made a mistake. The bones around Ryan's _left_ eye socket were damaged, pressing on an optical nerve and causing the decrease in his _left_ eye's vision. I said his right eye one time. Thanks for catching it!

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The good news was the sedation was lifted New Years Day in the late morning and Ryan was moved out of surgical intensive care. The head of the bed was now raised a little. The bad news was that Ryan was becoming even more restless and kept trying to pull out his IV's, succeeding once. He would make quiet, frustrated noises and move his legs which although it was unnerving to the Cohens, it actually showed progress on Ryan's behalf.

"Ryan, you've got to calm down." Kirsten took Ryan's hand and rubbed it gently. The doctors kept telling the Cohens to talk to Ryan as often as possible and try to get him to relax. They didn't want his blood pressure rising. "You're doing great, I promise you'll feel better soon."

"Yah, Ry. It's gonna be ok," Seth added looking at his brother's face, trying to avoid staring at the stitches on Ryan's shaved head from the first surgery. "Just take it easy."

Ryan's eyes began to flutter again. He had been doing that often since early on in his hospital stay, yet somehow the pattern seemed different today. Both Kirsten and Seth noticed.

"Ryan? Ryan, honey can you open your eyes?" Kirsten was immediately hovering over her injured son.

"Lets go, Ry. There's some pretty hot nurses around here and they all keep coming in unnecessarily. I'm jealous, man," Seth coaxed.

Sure enough, Ryan's eyes began to slowly open. At first they looked unfocused. He stared past Kirsten, seldom blinking, as if something of great interest was just beyond her. Seth looked at the door just to make sure.

"Ryan, honey? Can you hear me? Can you look over to me?" Kirsten was on his right side where he could see her better. She cried tears of joy when his vision slowly tracked towards her. Seth pushed the nurses' call button. Isabella came running in.

"Mrs. Cohen?" She questioned quickly. "Oh, Ryan!" Isabella's voice changed from concern to delight when she noticed her patient's eyes locked on his mother's.

"He just opened them. His eyes were fluttering again but it was slower and we kinda talked him into opening them," Kirsten responded without taking her eyes off her son, afraid that he would close his eyes and never look at her again.

Isabella stepped over to the computer and paged one of the neurologists and a translator, both of whom arrived shortly. Sandy was outside in the hall making a phone call to his office when he saw the commotion in Ryan's room and naturally ran inside to see what was wrong.

"Ryan, can you look at me?" the translator spoke for the neurologist. "Look over here." With no reaction, the doctor/translator continued. "Ryan I am going to raise the head of the bed, ok? You're head's going to be moving up, you ready?" the doctor motioned to Isabella to control the bed.

That got a reaction out of Ryan. Another quiet noise escaped Ryan's mouth. Kirsten wished she knew what he meant every time he 'spoke.' Everyone watched as Ryan finally looked around the room, clearly happy to now be upright. He stopped gazing around when he saw Seth. Ryan locked eyes with his brother and showed signs of recognition. Ryan's face relaxed and he opened his eyes a little more. When he saw Sandy, it became clear that Ryan knew who he was with. The doctor motioned to Kirsten to start talking to Ryan.

"Ryan, sweetie. It's Kirsten, can you look over here?" Kirsten looked at the doctor who nodded in encouragement. Ryan turned his head much to everyone's excitement. "Ryan, do you remember how our family was taking a trip to Italy?" She saw no signs of understanding but continued. "Well, honey you had an accident and you are in the hospital, but everyone is taking good care of you and you're going to be ok."

The doctor picked up Ryan's left hand since his right was still hypertonic. Ryan jumped a little at the touch and turned his head to compensate for his limited vision and looked at his hand.

"It's ok, Ryan," Isabella spoke. "I know you are having trouble seeing on your left side. That happened in the accident. Can you squeeze the doctor's hand?" Isabella finished, translating for the doctor.

Ryan looked confused. He saw one person yet heard the voice of another. He decided to listen to the person talking after seeing Kirsten give an encouraging nod. Ryan squeezed the doctor's hand like the nurse asked and he actually smiled slightly as a natural reaction to the positive comments he received.

"Ryan you, you smiled!" Seth exclaimed. Everyone clapped for Ryan which made him smile again.

Ryan's eyes were now fixed on Isabella. "Ryan, are you ok?" she asked, slightly concerned at the stare.

He raised his left hand and clenched and released his fist as if he was trying to grab air. Isabella glanced sideways at the doctor who slowly shook his head as if to say, 'I don't know what he's doing.' Ryan kept grabbing the air and smiled when Isabella moved closer. The nurse got very close to him and to everyone's surprise, Ryan made a move to grab her stethoscope from her neck. Isabella took the instrument off and handed it to him. Ryan smiled as he jiggled it up and down. Everyone laughed and clapped for Ryan at the sight.

"Ryan, do you want to be a nurse?" Isabella asked, still smiling. "Nod your head if you hear me." Ryan obliged.

"Good job, Ryan," the translator spoke for the doctor. He noticed Ryan's eyes drooping. "Are you getting tired, Ryan? Nod if you are tired." Ryan nodded and closed his eyes falling asleep.

After making sure Ryan was comfortable, the doctor spoke through the translator. "Ryan is doing great! He did well sitting up. And it seems like he can understand what we are saying to him." The doctor noticed Kirsten's dejected look. "Mrs. Cohen, I know it seems so elementary, but this is excellent progress. His injury is very serious, but I will now bet that he will exceed our expectations. This is great potential. He's not going to be 'stuck' like this. Do you have any questions?"

"You said he would be transferred to a rehab facility soon?" Sandy spoke up.

"Yes, our hope still is that on Monday Ryan will be ready to move to our rehab facility just across the street like we discussed," the doctor explained with the translator. "They are expecting him then. We also decided that he will go back to America in a few weeks, once he is ready to travel. Have your thoughts changed on this?"

"No. We want him back as soon as possible. My husband and Seth will go back to California on Wednesday and I plan to stay in the hotel until it is time to bring Ryan home," Kirsten said right away to the translator. In response to the doctor's raised eyebrows Kirsten replied, "We're not leaving him here alone. He's scared and confused and I am not going to abandon my son, no matter how short a time it will be."

"That a girl, mom," Seth joked as he looked at Kirsten.

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Kirsten and Seth had returned to the hotel for a nap and then were going to look at St. Mark's square. Within the last couple of days, after Ryan's condition was upgraded to 'stable,' one parent and Seth had gone to see some sights of Venice while the other parent stayed with Ryan. They of course shared the pictures with Ryan and talked him to sleep with the events of the day.

Ryan woke up later that day and this time he was much less happy. He was irritated again at the IV's. Conchetta and another physical therapist came in to have him sit up, something that Ryan was none too pleased about. The therapists were confident that their patient understood what he was being asked, he just was too exhausted to try.

"Ryan," Sandy began. "Ryan you've got to let them help you. You'll feel better. I know you're tired now but you just need to be strong, ok?" Sandy patted his son's leg. "Come on, kid. You're tough." Sandy swore he saw a faint nod from Ryan's head.

"Ok, Ryan. We're going to try and sit up. We're going to help you but you need to help us, too, alright? I am going to put my hand on your back now." Conchetta put one hand behind Ryan's right shoulder blade and with her other, she held Ryan's curled hand, pressing it to the bed. The other therapist put one hand under Ryan's left armpit and his other at the base of Ryan's neck supporting it.

"Ok, Ryan, up you go," the other therapist Lorenzo who spoke English decently said. Just as expected, Ryan's head lolled backwards but Lorenzo's hand caught it. It was relatively easy to sit Ryan up. The bed was already half up and all Ryan had to do was pull the rest of the way.

"That's it, kid!" Sandy congratulated.

The therapists laid Ryan back down gently after staying vertical for a few minutes. Conchetta kept her hand in Ryan's curled right one trying to open up some space between his palm and fingers. The team sat up in similar fashion two more times and were about to have another go but the therapists noticed Ryan had pretty much fallen asleep. The PT's offered their kind words to Sandy before they left.

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Kirsten and Seth returned for dinner at the hospital and with them, of course, came pictures of their afternoon out. Kirsten was going through her camera with Ryan one by one, taking her time to make sure he understood what he was seeing. When she finished showing Ryan, he looked up at Seth with an unusual expression on his face.

"Ryan, are you ok?" Kirsten asked, skeptical.

"Mom, he's fine," Seth stood up and moved towards Ryan's right side. "You're wondering why on Earth I'd ever go see a place like that, aren't you?"

"Seth I don't think he—" Kirsten started but stopped immediately when she saw Ryan nod slightly and smile.

"Well not to worry, bro. There was this guy selling newspapers and magazines outside the square and guess what? I totally picked up this Italian comic," Seth said laughing as he pulled out his famed purchase. "I bought it for a few reasons. One, I look like a world traveler with a souvenir of this kind. Two, I kinda understand the plot based on the pictures. And three, and the most important reason, it gives me another excuse to talk to Angelina. She can do some translation," Seth finished with a proud smile.

Ryan shook his head and rolled his eyes then nodded off to sleep, and for the first time that vacation, the Cohens saw a true glimpse of the old Ryan. It would be a while, but everyone was certain on one thing: Ryan would be back.


	6. Chapter 6

Obvious FYI: I don't own anything that even remotely has to do with The O.C.!

Thank you for reviewing! Please keep them coming!

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Ryan transferred across the street two days later to St. Francis Acute Rehabilitation Hospital in Venice where he would stay for two weeks before returning home to America. After saying a tearful goodbye to all the staff at the main hospital, Sandy, Seth, and Kirsten helped move Ryan. Seth pushed Ryan in a wheelchair out of the main hospital and through the doors of the rehab facility. Sandy and Kirsten followed with a duffel bag of Ryan's things and were ready to settle him into his new room. The nurses had called ahead to expect a translator and sure enough, one was waiting for them at the entrance.

"Are you the Cohens?" the translator Marcus asked.

"Yes, hi. I'm Sandy and this is my wife Kirsten and our sons Seth and Ryan," Sandy spoke, pointing to each family member as he introduced them.

"I am Marcus. Nice to meet you all. Welcome to St. Francis." Marcus led them to the front desk where he conversed with the nurses.

Soon the family made it down the hall to room 113. Two nurses got Ryan settled and said that Ryan's roommate would be back later in the afternoon. Sure enough, by 2pm, Ryan's roommate wheeled in, waking the teen.

The man was around fifty years old and was the most stereotypical Italian the Cohens had ever seen. He had a gold necklace on and had multiple chunky, gold rings adorning his fingers on both hands. Clearly Ryan wasn't in the pediatric ward. Right away the man spoke rapid Italian, scared of the strange people in front of him. One nurse came running in to calm him down.

"He scared," the nurse explained. "This is Antonio. He had stroke two weeks ago. I will tell more later." Everyone nodded and looked at a stunned Ryan.

"Ryan, it's ok, honey," Kirsten began as she sat next to her son. "This is your roommate. He was just surprised to see us. Everything is fine, sweetie." Kirsten finished, running her fingers down Ryan's cheek. He nodded and fell back asleep.

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When Ryan woke up next, a speech therapist and Marcus the translator were standing over him ready to work.

"Can't you let him sleep a bit more?" Kirsten asked, looking longingly at her son. "He's so tired from moving."

Both Italians smiled.

"We need to get him speaking as soon as we can. I know he is tired, but we will let him rest soon," Marcus spoke for the therapist. Kirsten nodded.

Ryan made another soft noise in a way that made Kirsten laugh. It was almost as if he was saying, 'You want me to work? Yah, right.'

"Ryan can you repeat what I am doing?" the therapist made a low humming noise and looked at Ryan expectantly. "Ryan can you hum for us?" he prompted again. Ryan stared at the translator then looked at Kirsten.

"It's ok, honey. Listen to the translator. They are here to help you. Here, I'll hum, too," Kirsten comforted and repeated the same tone. She felt so bad for Ryan every time a translator spoke. Ryan was confused already let alone distinguishing between Italian and English.

Ryan nodded and made the humming noise. He smiled.

"Good job!" both the therapist and Kirsten said, again producing a smile from Ryan.

The group continued with humming at different pitches. The last exercise they did was humming 'Happy Birthday,' a pretty much universal tune. The therapist started the first couple of seconds and looked at Ryan to repeat, which he did. However to everyone's surprise, Ryan continued the rest of the song alone. He let out a laugh at the end of the song and beamed as everyone clapped for him. Signs of congratulations were the same in every language.

His accomplishments, however, wore him out and he soon fell back asleep.

"Mrs. Cohen," the translator began. "Ryan is doing exceptionally well. The fact that he could repeat me and then recall the song is great. The brain in the area of the skull that was fractured is responsible for language interpretation and expression. Clearly his understanding is intact which makes his recovery incredibly smoother. We will get him talking soon. His intense therapies will start tomorrow. I have read Ryan's case thoroughly and I expect aphasia based on the CT scans and physician's reports, but Ryan is doing so well right now already. You should be proud."

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A few hours later, Kirsten had to say goodnight to Ryan. At the rehab center, a minor was considered to be 16 years old, and anyone else couldn't have anyone stay overnight. It broke Kirsten's heart to say goodbye.

"Ryan," Kirsten sat down next to him. "Ryan listen to me. I can't sleep over with you tonight like I did at the other hospital. I have to go back to the hotel with Sandy and Seth. But I promise we will all be back tomorrow as soon as we can, ok?" she searched her son for a sign of understanding. "I need to leave now, alright? I promise I will be back as soon as I can. They will take great care of you here. You just relax and sleep." She looked Ryan up and down. He looked like he wanted to say something.

Instead, he put his arm in the air and Kirsten recognized the gesture immediately. She began to tear as she put her arm around Ryan and hugged him.

As Kirsten got up to leave, she almost ran into the night nurse. "Oh, I'm sorry. I know I need to leave. I was just saying goodnight to my son."

"Your foster son," the nurse corrected speaking very good English.

"Well, yes, we wrote that on the _paper_, but in all other respects, he is our _son_," Kirsten stated firmly, eyeing the nurse.

"I see. You speak well to him. You must have been together for a while."

"Actually it's only been a few months…" Kirsten trailed off, looking at Ryan.

"He is seventeen, yes?"

"Yes, he is. Well my husband is a lawyer and he…met…Ryan through that. Ryan came to live with us after his parents left him. It's a long story, actually."

"You obviously have loved him from the start."

Kirsten laughed. "At first I was actually a bit apprehensive of the situation to be honest. But this vacation, this trip, I don't know. I feel like I can really be a mother to him, show him that I care. His real mother never took care of him. He's so innocent and lost now and I have no doubt in my mind now that I can help him. I don't know what I was…afraid of. It seems so natural now, having him around."

"Mrs. Cohen," the nurse put her hand on Kirsten's shoulder. "I have worked here many years and I can tell. This boy's going to make it. You and your family take good care of him, even in the brief moments I've noticed. He trusts you and now he shows it. He feels safe with you. You keep your love and you will see. Yes. This boy's going to make it. And you will make it, too." The nurse smiled again and entered the room to look at Ryan's chart, leaving a shocked Kirsten in the doorway.


	7. Chapter 7

Obvious FYI: I don't own anything that even remotely has to do with The O.C.!

Thank you for reviewing! Please keep them coming!

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Just a note: I meant for anyone under 16 (aka 15 and below) was a minor at the hospital…since Ryan is 16, he doesn't qualify for the pediatric ward/having a guardian stay overnight in the hospital. Sorry for the confusion and thanks for asking!

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It was Tuesday night when Sandy and Seth said goodbye to Ryan. Their flight was early in the following morning and they didn't want to wake him. Ryan was already exhausted from three therapies by the time they walked in. In physical therapy, he stood for the first time with assistance, and in occupational therapy, they got him to stack rings on a stick. He was also fitted for a brace for his right hand to try and relax the muscles and curve his hand back into a natural position. Finally, in speech therapy, he was able to say the alphabet, stuttering only slightly.

"Ok, kid," Sandy began as he touched Ryan's right side for his attention. "Seth and I are going back home to Newport now. Remember how we talked about this? We promise we will see you soon. Do you trust me on that?" Everyone looked at Ryan intently. He nodded and smiled.

"Alright, bro, this is where we split up. I'm going back to Cloneville. School won't be the same without you, but don't worry, I'll keep myself under control," Seth laughed. "We're going to call mom tomorrow when we get back home so you'll hear from us then. Get better, man."

Ryan nodded and made the 'thumbs up' sign that the OT's had shown him. Everyone laughed.

"Ryan I'm going back to the hotel just like last night, but I promise I will be back tomorrow morning, ok? You don't have to be scared, I promise. Can I have another hug?" Kirsten asked and smiled when Ryan offered.

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As the Cohens were driving back to the hotel, Seth asked his parents a question that had been on his mind since Ryan first woke up.

"So I was wondering. Maybe it's just me, but does Ryan seem, I don't know, more, _affectionate_ than before? I mean, no offense, Mom but the old Ryan wouldn't hug you, even in public. And I don't think you really would have hugged him either…"

There was a long pause.

"I know, Seth. I asked the doctor the same thing," Kirsten admitted. "He said that obviously Ryan isn't himself and he's confused. He sees love from us and naturally takes comfort in that. All this is terrifying for him. The nurses told me that based on his heart rate and responsiveness to the medications, Ryan is in pain. But just like the old Ryan, he'd never let us know. They said that once he becomes more…aware, I guess, of what's going on, he'll go more into himself."

"So it's kinda like he's drunk."

"Seth!" both Kirsten and Sandy said together.

"No, you know. Like, drunken words are sober thoughts, that phrase. It's like when Ryan's injured, what he really wants in life is coming out. He plays off of you. He's back to a little kid in that sense I guess. Right?"

"I think so. I just hope he feels this way when he's more with it." Sandy finished, leaving all three Cohens lost in thought the rest of the way back.

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The next day was busy for everyone. Kirsten had made friends with Antonio's wife Megan who thankfully was American. Kirsten couldn't help but think that Ryan's placement with his roommate was planned because of this, but she was grateful.

For Ryan, that Wednesday was monumental. He had one session of PT, one of OT, and two of speech. In his physical therapy session, Ryan stood again and began small balance exercises. Since Ryan's inner ear was damaged by the broken bone, his balance was significantly impaired. In occupational therapy, Ryan's right hand was taken out of the brace and stretched. The therapists even got him to grasp a few objects with it despite its severe tone. Kirsten stayed by his side through everything, helping him through the intimidating environment. Kirsten didn't know how Ryan did it, a strange environment and a confusing injury. But that made her think, did he understand what was happening? Was he aware? She needed to be strong for him. However it was Ryan's second speech therapy session that reality set in.

Ryan's first speech session was filled with more sounds and by the end of the time slot, Ryan was speaking his name and repeating after the therapist names of objects around the room. He had a stutter, but was understandable. The therapist decided to be aggressive with his next session.

"Ok, Ryan," a translator spoke for the speech therapist. "I'm going to hold up a picture of an object and I want you to say the name on your own, ok? Tell me what this is." The therapist held up a picture of a horse.

At length, Ryan answered, "Oooats."

The therapist looked at the translator and then both at Kirsten.

"Oooats," Ryan repeated. "Oats."

"Oh! Do you mean _Captain_ Oats?" Kirsten asked Ryan, suddenly understanding. Ryan nodded. Duh. Isn't that what he said? He gave the right answer.

"My other son, Seth, has this plastic horse he calls Captain Oats. Long story. What does that mean that Ryan said 'Oats' instead of 'horse'?" Kirsten addressed the translator.

"Let me keep asking questions. I have an idea but I need to see more," the therapist spoke through the translator. "Ryan this is a picture of a horse. Can you say 'horse'?"

"Hor-horse," Ryan repeated with a curt nod.

"Very good. Now what is this?" the therapist held up a stock card with a picture of a wooden chair.

"Sssit," Ryan answered.

"Ok. This is a _chair,_ Ryan. You _sit_ on a chair. You're doing well. Just speak up, talk louder this time. Tell me this one now," the therapist continued as he held up a picture of a stove.

"Cccook," Ryan decided.

"This is a _stove_. You _cook_ on a stove. Ok. How about this one?" Ryan was shown a picture of a man.

"Ppperson. Person. Boy ppperson. _Man_," Ryan talked himself through.

"Good, Ryan! You're right! That is a man! You've got the hang of this!" the therapist spoke through the translator. Ryan answered five more pictures correctly in the same fashion. "Mrs. Cohen, Ryan has now adapted to my descriptions. He's learned that I want the _noun_ of the situation. He will recall his experiences. The more we practice the better, he just needs to keep practicing and it will come back to him. Let him sort it out." The therapist then held up a simple picture of a mother happily holding her son's hand at a park in the summertime. The boy had a balloon. The words everyone was looking for were _mother, child, _or _family_ or even _park _or _balloon_.

Ryan stared at the picture. His eyes grew wide and it was evident that he was looking from the mother to the child and back again multiple times. He noticed them holding hands.

"Ryan? Ryan are you alright? Can you tell them what that is a picture of?" Kirsten put her hand on Ryan's shoulder. "Just say any of the words you see, honey."

"Ryan, what is this a picture of?" the therapist asked.

Ryan didn't know what to say. He looked at Kirsten and then back at the picture in the therapist's hand. Ryan had seen a horse, sat in a chair, cooked on the stove, seen a man before, as well as experienced the rest of the pictures he was shown. But this one, this picture, what was it? Somehow it didn't seem right. He looked at Kirsten again. No, she hadn't held his hand like that. It wasn't Kirsten and him like he first thought. Something was wrong. Why didn't he know this? That wasn't just any woman or any boy, something was different about them. They looked alike and were happy. And holding hands. That meant something, didn't it?

"Ryan, talk to me. Say what you see," the therapist said holding the picture closer. When no reply was forthcoming, the therapist spoke through the translator, "Ryan this is a picture of a mother." He pointed at each object on the card. "See? This is a mother with her son. They are at a park and he has a balloon. Do you remember doing something like that with your mother? Holding her hand?" the therapist nodded towards Kirsten's direction.

Kirsten closed her eyes, understanding what was wrong. She opened her eyes to see a quaking Ryan. He was looking around as if something had clicked in his mind.

"Ryan, honey. Ryan you're ok. You had an accident but you are getting much better and you're going to be fine. Ryan can you hear me?" Kirsten was crying. By now other patients in the large room were looking at the scared boy who was wide-eyed and staring at the wall.

Ryan heard echoes in the background. They were calling his name but he couldn't answer. Pain shot through his head and he had a flashback of his house in Chino, then the Cohen's mansion in Newport then a snowy villa that somehow seemed familiar. A metallic taste entered his mouth and everything went black.

"Ryan!" Kirsten screamed as she saw Ryan sink in the wheelchair, the seatbelt limp in his lap. His arms flailed out to the side, one hand hitting the stack of cards on the table, scattering them across the floor. One leg jerked to the right and hit the chair next to him.

Ryan's body seized for a few seconds and then was still. Multiple therapists carried the unconscious and helpless-looking Ryan to a bed two feet away. They were yelling in Italian and a nurse and an on-call doctor ran in, the latter checking Ryan's pupils with his penlight.

All Kirsten could do was watch.


	8. Chapter 8

Obvious FYI: I don't own anything that even remotely has to do with The O.C.!

Thank you for reviewing! Please keep them coming!

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Ryan was back in his room by the time he woke up for the second time following the seizure. The first time he woke up, he was still on the table in the gym, but his return to consciousness was met with so much pain that he blacked out before he could answer any of the hundreds of questions directed at him.

"Ryan?" A puffy-eyed Kirsten asked urgently as she snapped her head around. She had been holding Ryan's hand since he was moved back and she noticed the slight movement of his head. "Oh, honey how are you feeling?" Kirsten prompted as she noticed Ryan's eyes open ever so slightly. Kirsten was on his right side so he could see her better.

"'Sten?" Ryan's eyes opened a bit more and he looked around. "Hhhhead. Where?"

Kirsten pushed the nurse's call button and was relieved to see Giana the English-speaking night nurse and a doctor arrive quickly. The latter had been in and out of the room checking on Ryan for the four hours while he was asleep and was anxiously awaiting his awakening.

"Yes, it's me. It's Kirsten. These people are going to help you. Just listen to them. I promise it will be ok," Kirsten soothed as she rubbed Ryan's right hand through its brace and moved over for the doctors.

"Ryan, my name is Giana and I am a nurse. You had an accident and you are in the hospital. Can you look at me?" Giana asked in a kind voice.

Ryan turned his head away from the nurse, his right ear and eye buried into the pillow, leaving only his left side of his face visible. He immediately twisted his head in the other direction after realizing he could barely see. He panicked and began breathing hard.

"Ryan, Ryan calm down," the doctor said loudly. "You have trouble seeing out of that eye. That happened when you hit your head. Can you look at me? Nod if you can hear me." Ryan nodded.

"Whhha_t_?" Ryan said, emphasizing the 't.'

"What? What do you mean, Ryan? I asked if you can look at me." the doctor asked looking at the women in the room.

"Whhha_t_?" Ryan repeated raising his eyebrows then widening his eyes in fear when no one understood.

"What_ happened_?" the nurse guessed.

Ryan nodded. Hadn't he just said that?

"Ryan you slipped at the villa we were staying at. You hit your head outside and got very hurt. That was almost two weeks ago. Do you remember anything? We were at a different hospital before," Kirsten sat down next to Ryan who stared back blankly. "Ryan did you hear me?"

"Hhhead no feel gggood fffeel bad. _Hhhurt_." Ryan progressively got louder and more panicked with each word. He had been talking softly the whole experience and the doctors guessed it might have been from the damage to his inner ear.

"Calm down. I know you hurt, Ryan. We're going to give you medication. You're doing great with talking. I need to ask you some questions. Can you tell me where you live?" the doctor asked, hoping to asses Ryan's neurological state a bit further while he had a chance.

Ryan said nothing.

"Ryan what town do you live in?" Giana tried.

Nothing.

"Ryan, do you live in California?" Giana asked.

Ryan nodded.

"Can you say, 'yes,' Ryan?" Giana prompted.

Ryan complied.

"Do you play sports?" the doctor asked.

"Yesss," Ryan answered.

"Which ones?" the neurologist continued. Ryan said nothing.

"Do you play basketball?" Giana asked.

"Nnno," Ryan answered.

"Do you play soccer?" the doctor continued.

"Yesss. Bed." As soon as Ryan finished his statement, he was out.

"Why is he saying only yes or no?" Kirsten asked the two Italians. "He was saying objects yesterday and all day today!"

"Yes or no is simple. At Ryan's other speech sessions, they had him say objects in front of him where he could see what he was talking about. Our questions today were ambiguous, he couldn't see what we were asking him. When he was talking just now, he wasn't _conversing_, exactly, it was more like him saying what was on his mind. He's doing great, though. I'm surprised he stayed awake that long actually. He's becoming more aware. You should see more of his past traits come out soon," the doctor finished and looked down at his pager. "I'm being paged. I'm sorry. I will come talk further about this soon. He is doing well."

Giana offered her kind words and left as well.

"Wh_y_yy?" Ryan mumbled. It was so soft that Kirsten thought he was talking in his sleep until he repeated the question.

"Why what, honey? What's wrong? Why are you here?" Kirsten was racking her brain to figure out what Ryan was asking.

Ryan shook his head. "Wh_y_y yooou?"

"Why am _I_ here?" Kirsten asked in surprise.

Ryan nodded. "Why_y_ comme mee?"

"Why did I come stay with you here?" Kirsten translated.

Again, Ryan nodded, his eyes opening a little more. "Workkk no beee mee." He said slowly.

"Ryan I'm not working now, remember? We are still in Italy. Even if we were in California I still would stay with you. I _want_ to. Are you with me, Ryan?"

"You here awhileee beffooore thinkkk. Thankkk. No needed beee ifff no wanttt."

"I _do_ want to be here! And you need someone to look out for you, for many reasons. Just relax and get better. That's all you have to worry about."

"Thankkk." Ryan nodded and fell back asleep.

Kirsten sighed. Traits of the old Ryan.

-------------

Sandy let Seth go into school late on Thursday morning. Their flight had arrived behind schedule the night before and after the call about Ryan, Sandy and Seth were exhausted.

As Seth went to the front desk to check in, the secretary advised him that Dr. Kim had all of Seth's classmates in the auditorium. Curious, Seth opened the doors, not expecting everyone to stare at him. Dr. Kim had stopped speaking and the place grew quiet. Seth snuck in the back and slumped down in his seat. Great. Where the hell was Ryan when he needed him? Somehow it wouldn't have been as embarrassing if he were here. What was Dr. Kim on about now?

"As I was saying," Dr. Kim addressed the small crowd. "You must have noticed that one of your classmates did not return to Harbor on Tuesday with the rest of us."

_Interesting_, Seth thought_. I wonder who she kicked out._

"I'm sure that many of you have heard by now, but Ryan Atwood was injured this vacation and will not be joining us for a while," Dr. Kim continued. She couldn't help but steal a look at Seth.

Everyone followed her gaze and saw a frozen Seth. His eyes were wide in shock. Why the _hell_ was she saying this?

"Furthermore, I think it is important that we keep Ryan and his family in our prayers and do everything in our power to help him get better. Our school guidance councilors will be available if anyone feels the need to talk about this troubling time."

_WHAT?!_ Dr. Kim asking everyone to _pray_ for Ryan? Guidance councilors? What did she think she was pulling? Was she _happy_ that Ryan wasn't coming back? Pretending to take pity on the foster child she so heroically let into the school, was it a way for her to look better?

"Does anyone want to add anything?" Dr. Kim finished. To Seth's surprise, she actually looked a little concerned.

No one said anything, but many students couldn't contain their curiosity and turned around to stare at Seth's reaction to Dr. Kim's speech. In fact, there were only a few people who actually knew about Ryan's injury. Everyone in Seth and Ryan's grade was interested and Seth wasn't prepared for all the attention he would receive.

"Seth! Seth what's wrong with Ryan?"

"What happened?"

"Why isn't he coming back?"

"Is it really that bad?"

"What'd he do this time?"

"Seth!"

"Seth!"

The faster Seth walked away, the faster people ran after him. It wasn't until Summer and Marissa pulled Seth into an empty classroom did he get some peace.

"Seth, I'm sorry about that," Summer began.

"That sums up our school for you," Marissa continued, pulling Seth into a desk chair.

"How are you doing?" Summer asked quietly. Seth didn't respond for a while.

"Seth, we're here for you, your family, and Ryan. Please know that," Marissa said with a sincere smile. She had tears in her eyes.

"He and my mom are still in Italy. They're going to keep him there for a bit longer until he's ready to travel home. Then he's going to go to another rehab facility around here somewhere, I don't know where. He was awake and aware the last I saw him. He's getting better," Seth said, looking at the floor.

"That's good to hear, Seth," Marissa rubbed his shoulder.

"What was with Dr. Kim? _Praying_ for Ryan?" Seth turned to Summer and Marissa.

"She said other things before you got there, like start of second term stuff. She said she had 'sad news' to tell us. No one saw it coming. I mean, it can't hurt, though. We've been praying for him," Summer offered.

The bell rang just as Seth nodded in appreciation.

"If you need anything, we're here, ok?" Marissa said as the three left for the next class. This was going to be an interesting day.

-------------

"Ok, everyone, settle down. Now, as promised last class, we are going to start programming," the computer teacher began. "You have your assigned partners from yesterday, Cohen, you're with Ward, and I'm passing out the assignment sheet now. You have two choices of projects. This is due at the end of the term. I'll give you a few minutes to decide and then report to me your choice of assignments."

"Hey, Seth," Luke said as he came over to sit near his partner. "How are you doing? I saw everyone chase you down. I wish there was some way you could tell them all at once, you know? Just say that it's going ok."

"Seriously. Thanks," Seth said honestly. "So what's on the paper?" The boys looked at the sheet.

"We can make a website for a made up company with…shit! How many things does he want for that?" Luke was amazed with the list of requirements.

"Or we could make a blog and 'update it frequently.' Do you remember that from last term? Blogging format?" Seth asked. "I think that would be easier…"

"What would we blog about? How boring it is to live in Newport? Your comic collection? The possibilities are endless," Luke sighed sarcastically.

"No, wait. We can blog about Ryan," Seth said standing up.

"What? Seth, even for you, that's kinda weird…like showing our feelings?" Luke was unsure.

"No, like updates. How he's doing, you know?"

"Is that something you can make public?" Luke still wasn't buying it.

"As support. Maybe people will read it and it will get them thinking about Ryan, in a good way." Seth was serious.

"And it will get everyone off your back, too," Luke added.

"True, but that's not the real reason. Dr. Kim says let's support Ryan, then this is how we do it. We spread his progress."

"Seth I'm surprised at you," Luke laughed. "You actually have interesting ideas."

"Yah, I'm more than just comics and made-up holidays," Seth replied leaning back in his chair and laughing.

-------------

"Absolutely not, Seth! You want Ryan's injury public like that? Think about what Ryan wants! You can't _blog_ about his injury!" Kirsten was surprised that Seth would propose something like that. Kirsten turned away from her conversation with Antonio's wife Megan to talk to Seth.

"But Mom, I told you, Dr. Kim already told everyone. This is a way to make everyone think about Ryan and I dunno, like support him and stuff," Seth pleaded. He needed Kirsten's permission so he could actually get the updates he needed while Ryan was in Italy.

"Seth, let's not talk about this now please. It's almost time for me to leave for the night. I'll call you tomorrow, ok? I love you." Kirsten shut her phone after hearing the same message from Seth.

"Kirsten," Megan began. "I didn't mean to overhear…"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Seth has to make a blog or something for a class. He and his friend want to make frequent updates on Ryan's condition. I can't believe he'd think something like that," Kirsten replied, shaking her head and pointing to her phone.

"No, what I was going to say was I think it's a great idea."

"You do? How?" Kirsten was skeptical.

"Well you know my son Mauricio, the one I was telling you about? Well a couple of years ago, his friend Gabriel got into an accident and had injuries just like Ryan's. Gabriel's family and friends were all over the country and his brothers and mother kept getting phone calls from people wondering about his condition and it drove them crazy. Gabriel was self-employed and had no insurance, so he was facing big bills as well. Gabe's friend set up a blog just like what Seth's saying so that people could pray for him. Updates about fundraisers were up there, too. They had prayer circles on the town lawn every night I remember. It unified everyone. The website was always positive and got thousands of hits every day, many from people who had never met Gabe. His mother would read all the comments to him every night. It was incredible and I think once Gabe knew how many people were behind him, he was even more motivated to heal. It was great for his family, too. They even raised enough money for half of his medical bills. Newspapers did tons of articles about it. I think you should let Seth create the blog. It's not making a mockery of his injury. It's letting people know he's improving. I can give Seth the link to the archive if he wants a model. Reconsider it, Kirsten. You'll see."

Kirsten thought on her way back to the hotel about what Megan said. Maybe it wasn't such a crazy idea. If it made Ryan heal…

"Seth?" Kirsten called late that night, Italy time.

"Yah, Mom?"

"Do the blog. Just promise me one thing. Keep it as a tool to spread support. Don't let it get out of hand. I'll call you again tomorrow. Love you."

"Excellent," Seth turned to Luke. "Now we've _technically _can do this."


	9. Chapter 9

Obvious FYI: I don't own anything that even remotely has to do with The O.C.!

Thank you for reviewing! Please keep them coming!

-------------

Ryan slept very late the next day and was barely awake for his first OT session. It was a painful day for Ryan as the OT's stretched his right hand. The first PT session of the day was filled with standing and balance exercises which made Ryan's whole body ache. In speech therapy, they were getting him to repeat three-word sentences.

After lunch, Kirsten pushed Ryan in the wheelchair around the beautiful grounds of St. Francis. Although it was January, the day was abnormally warm and the campus of the rehab center was filled with patients and their families.

"Ryan, I want to talk to you about something. Are you with me?" Kirsten began as she sat on a snow-free bench. Ryan nodded. "I talked to Seth last night and he and Luke have a project they need to do for school. You remember Luke, right?" Kirsten continued seeing Ryan's nod. "Well they want to make a blog online that updates your progress, how much better you are getting and let people know how well you are doing. What do you think of that?" Suddenly realizing, Kirsten re-phrased her question. "Would that be ok with you?"

Ryan stared for a moment at Kirsten then leaned his head back against the headrest on the wheelchair and closed his eyes. The nurses had given him sunglasses to wear outside because the bright sunlight further irritated Ryan's abnormal vision. They didn't want him panicking anymore.

"Yesss. Readdd?" Ryan finally said as he opened his eyes and turned to Kirsten.

"Who will read it? Well, anyone, I suppose. The same thing happened to a friend of your roommate's son, you know. Megan told me. Everyone really liked it and it helped the friend get better. Does that sound good?"

"Okkk. Whyyy?"

"Why do they want to make the blog? Well they want to update everyone on your progress. You have a lot of people thinking about you, you know. Readers can respond to topics that Seth and Luke write about, too. I will read you what they say. Does that sound alright?"

Ryan nodded and closed his eyes again.

"Lets get you back inside. You have PT again in an hour," Kirsten said kindly as she pushed Ryan around the frozen pond one more time and back to his room.

-------------

"Alright, Ryan, I promise this round will be shorter than this morning's, ok?" the physical therapist asked her patient through yet another translator. Ryan was getting used to the two languages. Kirsten had to explain to him on multiple occasions what was happening with the two voices, but by now Ryan seemed to understand the English.

"Okkk," Ryan answered.

"Do you remember what we worked on this morning?" the therapist spoke again. Ryan said nothing. "Ryan did we do some standing exercises today?" Nothing. "Ryan do you remember coming to see me a few hours ago? I gave you my pencil that you like so much. You used it later in OT. Do you remember that?"

"Yesss," Ryan said at length. "Writtte."

"Ok, I'm glad at least you remember my pencil," the therapist said with a smile. "Well you did great this morning, so lets do even better now, sound good?"

Ryan nodded. "Gooddd. Blogg."

Kirsten smiled. She had already told anyone who would listen about Seth and Luke's idea. Everyone was behind it, saying they would read and post on the blog as well.

"Oh, yes, Ryan. Your brother better put this on the blog," the therapist said as she smiled. "Now lets get working so we can get you home sooner. You're well on your way."

"You're doing great, Ryan. Remember how the doctor said you probably would be ready to go home earlier than they thought? Well you've got to prove to them. I'll be right over here," Kirsten encouraged, pointing to a chair against the wall right behind them where she took a seat and watched.

"Ok, Ryan we're going to stand up again. My friend Marco is going to help us, ok?" the translator spoke for the PT as her colleague came over.

"I've got your favorite safety belt, Ryan. Remember this?" Marco held up a large plastic belt with a grip on the back for the PT's to hold onto Ryan.

Once everything was settled, the PT's began more standing exercises. Because of the damage to Ryan's inner ear, his balance was significantly impaired and he wobbled to the left often. However by now, he was learning how to compensate. The more he practiced, the more his body adapted.

After two well-done sets of ten sit-to-stand exercises, the team moved over to the parallel bars.

"Alright, Ryan I want you to stand and hold on, ok? I've got you in the front and Marco's got you in the back, alright?" the PT motioned to the parallel bars where Ryan would grip. Marco had to help Ryan grasp the bar with his right hand at first but it was all Ryan after that.

After standing for thirty seconds, the PT's let Ryan sit down in a chair right behind him in the bars. Ryan stood holding on four more times and was able to right himself when he would list to the left, the most important thing the PT's wanted to accomplish. Although he was exhausted, Ryan was well on his way.

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ATWOOD AT LARGE

_Where Seth and Luke get an A and We Tell You About Ryan's Day_

January 8

Update One

So, cyber viewers, as you can tell, this is day one of Seth and Luke's group project/Ryan Atwood's injury blog. If you are new to our lovely idea, Ryan Atwood is a high school student from California who is still recovering in Venice, Italy from a serious head injury. The two attractive co-authors of this site are Seth Cohen (Ryan's foster brother) and Luke Ward (Ryan's teammate and friend). Not only will this blog help us pass Computer Concepts, it will serve as an updater on Ryan's recovery. Sound like a plan? We think so.

Yesterday, according to Kirsten Cohen, who is with our beloved patient at St. Francis Rehab hospital, is Seth's mom, and is the source of all of our information, Ryan had a very good day.

--In speech therapy they were getting him to repeat little phrases. They say that he understands everything people are saying to him, but getting him to elaborate on answers is the problem. He still has issues with intangible concepts (i.e. talking about people who aren't in the room at the time) but he is getting much better. Story of his life.

--In occupational therapy (OT, for those of the non-rehab-speaking world, is where smaller, more fine motor skills are worked on), Ryan started to write with a pencil. In our opinion, it would have been quite comical, in a supportive way, to watch Ryan write his name. He's right handed, and he has a hard time using it now because of the injury, so when they finally got him to hold the pencil, apparently a three year old could write better. Oh well. The more he writes, the more legible it becomes. He is also now St. Francis's most accomplished plastic ring stacker. It's great news! (For real, we mean it).

--Finally, in physical therapy, they got him to stand on his own and hold onto the parallel bars. Because of where he fractured his skull, his inner ear is damaged which is a main controller of balance. Combine that with limited vision in his left eye, you have wobbling Ryan at your service. But, our favorite injured American is learning to correct himself when he leans to one side which according to the doctors and therapists will make him come home sooner. He's getting much better quicker than they thought!

So that is our first update, more to come soon. This is installment one, connecting Ryan to Harbor Academy and vice versa. Ryan is lucky to have improved as much as he has these past two weeks and in our opinion, he's lucky to have all those young, Italian nurses fawning over him…

Keep on getting better, Ryan and we'll see you soon!!

Until next time, this is Cohen and Ward, signing out.

Posted By: Seth and Luke at 4:42 PM---Click to comment---Links to this post---


	10. Chapter 10

Obvious FYI: I don't own anything that even remotely has to do with The O.C.!

Thank you for reviewing! Please keep them coming!

-------------

By the time Seth woke up for school the next morning, the blog had four hundred and thirty-two hits. But what was most outstanding to Seth was _where_ the hits were coming from. By being a co-author of the blog, he was able to see the country location of the visitors to the site. There were multiple hits from Italy. But, as Luke had reminded him, it was called the _world _wide web.

"Seth!" Summer called as soon as she saw him at school that morning. "Seth everyone read the blog, it was awesome! That's great that Chino's doing so well, too. Just so you know, like _everyone _read the blog. People that I didn't even know _went_ to this school asked me about it because they know I'm friends with Ryan. They're going to be all over you."

"I think that already happened," Seth replied, laughing. "I overheard people talking about it in the parking lot, and when I walked by, one kid asked me if I read the blog. He was serious. I told him I thought computers were a waste of time and I didn't even know who Ryan was."

"_Seriously_, Cohen?" Summer said shaking her head. "You would."

Before she could finish, Luke came running up to the pair holding a printout of the comments posted on the blog.

"Hey! Look at this!" Luke said shoving one of the pages in Seth's face. "Look at all these postings! Especially this one, ready? _My dearest wishes go out to you and your family. It is so great to hear you doing better, Ryan. When you left us you were barely talking, and now look at you! You have improved so much! Keep strong! I will always be thinking of you and your family. You are all so lovely each in your own way._ _It was so nice to meet all of you and barring the circumstances, I wish I had an opportunity to get to know you more…Always thinking of you, Angelina._ Dude she sounds hot!" Luke looked at Seth's red face.

"Seth who's Angelina?" Summer was now curious.

"No one…she must have been a nurse at the main hospital or something. I don't know. I was so, uh, distraught," Seth replied walking away.

"Dude she called you _lovely_ obviously you met her!" Luke was laughing. "Don't walk away! I'm going to ask your dad what you did to be so _lovely_! Oh this blog is even better than I thought."

-------------

Kirsten had just finished reading Ryan the first entry of the blog along with all eighty-three comments. She wasn't sure how many postings Ryan actually understood, but nevertheless, he seemed to comprehend the idea of the blog and seemed grateful. He recognized some names from school which made the doctors happy to see him begin to associate names with positive comments.

Ryan's day was filled with more of the same standing and balance exercises as far as PT went, but in OT and speech, they were getting more creative.

In speech therapy, they had Ryan doing word associations.

"Alright, Ryan. Do you remember what we did this morning? When we talked about different words?" the speech therapist spoke through the translator. Ryan looked a little unsure. "When we do the exercise again, you'll remember. Do you want to start now?"

"Ryan, I'm right here again, ok? You can do this," Kirsten heartened Ryan. He nodded.

"Good. Now I am going to read you a word and I want you to tell me something that goes with it, ok? Remember now? Like if I say 'tree,' you can say 'leaf.' Ready?"

Ryan nodded. "Remembbberr."

Everyone smiled. "Alright here's the first one. 'Kitchen,'" the translator spoke as the therapist pointed to the boldly-written word.

Ryan didn't respond right away, but looked as though he was making up his mind which word to repeat. The therapist noticed this and didn't push him.

"Ovvenn," Ryan finally answered. He paused and then continued, "No 'Stenn."

The translator shrugged at the therapist, unable to describe Ryan's speech.

"Oh!" Kirsten exclaimed, recalling what Ryan had called her when he first woke up. "'Sten. You mean _Kirsten_?"

Ryan's eyes grew wide as if to say, _duh_.

"Kirsten?" the translator asked, looking at the therapist and not knowing what to reply.

"I'm not the best cook in the world…I think he was referring to me staying out of the kitchen. Right, Ryan?" Kirsten smiled. She didn't even need to ask. She knew.

"That's great!" the therapist finally said after being explained the situation. "He's remembering so much! Ryan can you tell me something else that would be in a kitchen?"

Ryan thought for a moment. "Ssinkk," he decided and smiled when the therapist agreed.

"Ryan, does your kitchen at home have cabinets?" the therapist asked.

"Yesss," Ryan answered. He was instructed to use words and not to nod if he could.

"Ryan, what are some things people put in cabinets?" the therapist was interested to hear her patient's response. Since the contents of a cabinet are hidden, Ryan wouldn't be able to picture anything if he envisioned a kitchen. He would have to remember.

"Thhingss," said at length.

"What kind of things?"

Ryan paused, deep in thought. "Foorkk. Towwell. Cupp."

"Ryan! That's great! You are right!" the therapist was truly happy at his progress. "What about the beach, Ryan? What comes to mind if I say _beach_?"

"Shhackk," Ryan answered right away and looked at Kirsten.

Kirsten knew what Ryan meant and was about to elaborate, but the therapist silenced her and tried to coax it out of Ryan.

"Tell me about the shack, Ryan. Why is there a shack on the beach?" the therapist continued. Her job was part talking part psychology.

"Ffoodd. Ggoo."

"People eat at the shack? What do they eat?"

"Ffoodd. Thhingss. Workk."

"Keep going, Ryan. You're doing great. Keep telling me about the shack. Does it have a name?"

"_Shhackk_. Shhackk. Crabb Shhackk."

"The restaurant is called _Crab Shack_?" the therapist guessed, understanding.

"Yesss. Workk. Meee."

"You work at the _Crab Shack_? That is your job at home?"

"Yesss. Meee workk _Crabb Shhackk_."

"Can you say, 'I work at the _Crab Shack_'?"

"I…workk att… thhe _Crabb…Shackk_!" Ryan knew he did it perfectly.

"I think someone's ready to go home!" the therapist laughed.

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ATWOOD AT LARGE

_Where Seth and Luke get an A and We Tell You About Ryan's Day_

January 9

Successful

So we come at you today with many thoughts. First of all, thank you so much for all the hits and comments! Kirsten has read them to Ryan and she says he understands them. That's our goal! Let's keep it coming!

Second, we are happy to report that Ryan had another good day today. Keep reading for his accomplishments:

--In physical therapy he now expects a balance issue and is waiting to catch himself. They walked down the parallel bars today, therapists barely supporting Ryan as he held onto the bars, and he stood holding on for a whole minute. Of course, he almost fell asleep in the wheelchair on the way back to the room, but no biggie. The best part is the PT's are confident he's going to use the walker soon! All the leg press machine work.

---In OT today, Ryan proved he is now an accomplished clothespin-putter-in-a-bucket-er. For those who do not comprehend our misguided attempts at humor, the therapists dumped out like 50 clothespins and Ryan had to put them back into a bucket one by one. It was still hard for him on his weak right arm, but nevertheless, he still comes out in style!

---Finally, for the best part of the day, Ryan killed in speech therapy. They were doing this word association game. We were talking and we remember we saw cops do that to a convict in some TV show. But they do it differently at St. Francis. The therapist said, 'kitchen,' and Ryan pretty much said that Kirsten is a bad cook (sorry, everyone already knows it). They also said 'beach' and right away Ryan knew to say the Crab Shack! Never fear, our ever-popular waitress, er, _waiter _will be back again someday. Didn't they say that about Frost the Snowman?

So, dear Ryan. You have had another great day and we are very proud. We are all thinking about you here in the O.C. We wonder what you would have said if the therapists gave you _that_ word…

Keep on getting better, Ryan and we'll see you soon!!

Until next time, this is Cohen and Ward, signing out.

Posted By: Seth and Luke at 3:27 PM---Click to comment---Links to this post---


	11. Chapter 11

Obvious FYI: I don't own anything that even remotely has to do with The O.C.!

Thank you for reviewing! Please keep them coming!

-------------

Just a Seth/Luke Update…

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ATWOOD AT LARGE

_Where Seth and Luke get an A and We Tell You About Ryan's Day_

January 11

Photo Update and More!

So we know that we missed yesterday, but we made up for it with pictures, courtesy, of course, of Kirsten Cohen. Click the link below to see a pictures of Kirsten, Ryan, his roommate, and his roommate's family in the garden at the hospital. We actually think that might be a real gnome in the background of the second picture…you decide: real or statue? Let us know.

Ryan has accomplished a lot in the past two days. The biggest news is that Ryan will be coming back to the good ole U.S. of A. in five days! They knew his little stint at St. Francis would be short, but he's already so close to his goals and they know that being at home will make his improvement come even faster. Yay for our immigrant!

In other news, he is slated to use the walker tomorrow! We never thought we'd be so happy to say that to anyone under, well, 80 years old, but this just proves our point of his progress! He will keep the walker for a little while, though. His balance is still wavering a bit but the more he practices, the more his body adjusts. He's also getting stronger in his core. They had him doing crunches. We tried to get a picture of that, but even in his impaired state, Ryan knew that would mean total blackmail.

He is now copying sentences down on paper. His writing is getting better, actually, anything is an improvement on his chicken scratch. He still wears a brace on his right hand to try and stretch out the muscles. It's painful for him when the therapists themselves move his hand around, but they can tell how much the brace has helped already. His right fingers will never be as straight or as strong as his left, as per the injury, but he's getting there!

In speech therapy the past few days they had him talking more and more. They asked him about Harbor Academy, but Kirsten won't tell us his reply. We can only guess…

Ryan is now becoming more aware and annoyed of the decreased eyesight in his left eye. When he hit his head, the bones around his eye socket were damaged which damaged an optic nerve. He has around 20 degrees of vision in that eye now. They are going to give him glasses when he gets back home. It must be weird…seeing everything fine with one eye but partially with the left. The more encouragement we give him the better. One therapist told him that phrase, 'In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.' Ha. King Atwood. That can be taken in many ways. But as far as we're concerned, Ryan, you're one up on Stevie Wonder.

So we await you, King Atwood and your return to Pacific Standard Time. Sandy Cohen (Seth's dad and Ryan's foster father) and Kirsten (Sandy's wife in case you didn't make the connection…) have announced that Ryan will go to Weldon Rehab in Carson, California when he returns from his detour abroad. We might get to see our main character for a day or two before he goes to Weldon, but that depends on when Ryan can start there.

But never fear, just because the King will be in America doesn't mean we'll stop blogging. For one good reason, this is still a homework assignment! With something this good, we're not stopping after a few entries!

Keep on getting better, Ryan and we'll see you soon!!

Until next time, this is Cohen and Ward, signing out.

---Click here for Photos---

Posted By: Seth and Luke at 5:29 PM---Click to comment---Links to this post---


	12. Chapter 12

Obvious FYI: I don't own anything that even remotely has to do with The O.C.!

Thank you for reviewing! Please keep them coming!

-------------

"So Seth, I heard Ryan is coming home before he goes to the other rehab place!" Marissa stated excitedly when she saw Seth late in the morning. "I heard your dad tell my mom."

"That's great, Cohen," Summer chimed in. "We should have a 'welcome home kind of' party! I mean, if your mom thinks it's ok. What do you think?"

"I don't know. I'll have to ask. I think it might be a little overwhelming for him. But it will be almost a month since the accident by that time. I dunno. I'll ask her tonight. But I am totally not decorating the living room. I'll leave that up to you guys," Seth laughed.

"I can't believe he'll be here so soon. I can't wait to see him!" Marissa said sighing.

"He's going to be really tired you know, Marissa," Seth replied a little too coldly.

"Seth, I—" Marissa stammered out.

"Just be there for him, ok? This is about _him_. He's not going to do anything for you. Just make him happy," Seth replied and walked away leaving a confused Summer and Marissa.

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"Alright, Ryan. You ready to try the walker?" a new and decent-English-speaking PT named Andrea spoke to her patient. Two more physical therapists were present for the milestone.

"Yesss. Noo picturre, 'Sten," Ryan pleaded as he noticed Kirsten taking out her digital camera.

"Of course I am taking a picture, Ryan!" Kirsten laughed. "This is a big deal and plus I'll give it to Seth to put on the blog."

Ryan nodded in defeat of a battle he knew was a lost cause. He was beginning to really understand the concept of the blog and appreciated the entries Kirsten read to him. They discussed each one and Megan was right, it was helping Ryan heal.

"Ok, Ryan. You're going to start standing just as you've been practicing. Your hands are going to go here. Now this bar is thin enough for you to get your right hand around it easily. Do you see Adeline over there?" the therapist pointed to a stroke victim a few feet away who was using a walker quite well.

"Yesss. Usse walkk."

"That's right. She's doing well. We're going to try a little of what she's doing. You ready?"

"Yesss. Readdy. Verry."

The therapist smiled. "Ok, we're all set. I've got you by the safety belt and my friends here are ready on the sides. Alright, up you go!"

Ryan stood up from the matted table he was sitting on. He had already mastered standing from the wheelchair and a chair and was now onto sitting up alone on the table. His right arm was still weaker than his left and it grabbed the walker last, but Ryan was prepared for that. He listed a bit to his left when he stood, but Andrea and Ryan corrected the imbalance quickly.

Once he was standing and holding on to the walker he looked around intently. Kirsten had already taken six pictures and the flash was beginning to annoy Ryan.

"That's great, Ryan? How do you feel?" the therapist asked.

"Gooddd," Ryan replied smiling. He was now talking more and more, and Seth had joked that he was now saying more than he ever had back in Newport.

"You ready to take steps, now? Just like walking with the parallel bars. Remember what we talked about, nice and close to the walker and stay up tall. Use those stomach and back muscles we were working on," the therapist encouraged, strengthening her grip on his safety belt on his back. She stood on his left side while the other therapists stood at the ready on his right and in front. Ryan stepped with his right foot first and then slowly met it with his left. It reminded Kirsten of a bride walking down the isle.

It felt weird to Ryan to walk with the walker, but he couldn't decide why. After a month of being in a wheelchair and heavily medicated, he almost forgot what was normal for him. But, as Kirsten noticed, the blog was helping Ryan make connections. When she read the comments, Ryan now understood that something had happened to him, but he was getting better. Kirsten had told him many times about the injury, but his memory was improving and he was retaining more and more of what she said. He now understood that his friends weren't with him physically, but they were still thinking about him. Ryan was having more and more 'oh yeah' moments and everyone could see it in his eyes when he understood something more than saying 'yes' for the sake of making the adults happy.

Although he was walking slowly, Ryan noticed how good it felt to be moving on his own, despite the therapists' hands gently supporting him. He never controlled the wheelchair and was always pushed, but now with the walker, it was up to him, within reason. He now understood the independence he was itching for while squirming restlessly in his bed. _This _is why everyone was so excited for him to use the walker. _This _is what it really felt like to get better. Better. That was the word everyone was saying.

Kirsten noticed something click again in Ryan's mind. She could see his understanding of freedom when he looked at her and smiled a grateful and proud smile.

"Ryan, that was great!" the therapist exclaimed. "You made it all the way to the desks! How do you feel?"

"Gooddd," Ryan said with a satisfied grin.

"Are you ready to go back now?" Andrea asked her patient.

"Bacckk?" Ryan asked, confused for a moment.

"Yes, back to the table where we were before, is that ok? Are you tired?" Andrea questioned, taking a good look at Ryan.

"Yesss ok. Ok tireddd." Independence was tougher than he thought. He had to work for improvement. Another 'oh yeah' moment.

------------

That night Ryan was exhausted. As soon as he returned to his room from the PT session earlier, using the walker, he fell asleep and had to be woken up for dinner.

"Ryan how do you feel?" Kirsten asked as she helped Ryan drink his dinner. It was true that Ryan was losing weight, but once he was back on his feet and eating real food soon, he would regain some pounds.

"Fineee."

Ryan's response surprised Kirsten. Were they back to the short answers? The doctors had said that although he would get very close, Ryan would most likely not be back to 100%, and even if he were to, it could take years.

"Fine? Tell me more. Does your head hurt?" Kirsten questioned carefully, trying to draw out as much as she could.

"Headdd hurttt yesss," Ryan stated and took another sip of the straw.

"They are going to give you your medications soon, honey. Does anything else hurt?"

"Eyesss," Ryan went to move his hand towards the stitches on the left side of his head. The bandages had recently been removed and it was a new feeling for Ryan. Kirsten had to keep reminding him not to touch his head.

"Ryan, don't—" but before Kirsten could finish, she wrinkled her eyebrows in confusion at Ryan's puzzled expression. "Ryan are you ok?"

"Hairrr," Ryan said at length.

"Yes, honey remember? They cut your hair when they gave you the stitches."

"Yesss. Rememmberrr," Ryan said after a while. "Hairrr shortt. Growww backk?"

"Of course, honey. It will grow back. I promise. Do you want to wear the hat now?" Kirsten asked, making a move to get out a hat that Sandy had bought Ryan a couple of days after the accident. Ryan had refused to wear it but was now realizing why people kept asking him, wondering if he felt self-conscious. It was purely for Ryan's confidence and nothing more. He used a mirror to dress himself, but never really noticed the multiple, dark stitches, scars, and shaved head. He had the hat on for the outdoors pictures, but only because it was cold.

"Yesss. Thank," Ryan said as he put on the skull cap. He felt a sudden wave of security. He was beginning to feel timid in the recent days and now with his scars hidden, he sensed a new feeling of _better_.

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ATWOOD AT LARGE

_Where Seth and Luke get an A and We Tell You About Ryan's Day_

January 12

On the Move!

Hello again, global readers! We have a lot of information to tell you, but first we would like to answer jakelovesdogs23's comment about our gnome poll. First of all, we totally had that question up for a joke, although one hundred forty-seven people answered. Second of all, we know there is no such thing as gnomes, at least in the St. Francis garden…Third of all, we did not need your cited documentation that gnomes do not exist. Really? Really? You posted that? I think we all understood that fact when we were, like, ten. While we appreciate your research, this blog is a slightly gallows-humorous update-site only. Not another Wikipedia. Thank you.

Onto the good stuff. We are going to get to see Ryan before he goes to Weldon! He will be here in two days so get ready. We will have more details about his arrival soon.

Secondly, Ryan used the walker today! He was very strong and said that he liked to 'move alone.' Direct quote from The King himself! The wheelchair is in the corner for now and he will now be Walker California Ranger for now. Sorry, bad joke. We had to. Once again, we have pictures. Kirsten went a little overboard this time, but we posted all twelve anyways.

In OT they got him to write down sentences they read to him which is good because his short term memory is either excellent or as solid as Swiss cheese. But each day he remembers more and more. Repetition is the key!

Ryan was also happy that he beat his therapist in Checkers. He might be injured, but no one stands between Atwood and his board games.

In speech they had him rearrange pictures to tell a story. They have tried this on a few other occasions, but today he finally did it! They had him elaborate on the story when he was finished, and wouldn't you know Ryan has a very creative mind! I think those speech therapists should come over to Cali and coax some of that talking out of him when he gets back.

That brings us to our next poll. What do you think is the first thing Ryan will say when he gets back? We have a choice of:

Hey (mumbled)  
What are you all doing here?  
Ryan saying nothing but conveying his mood with a look

We are going with choice (c) but let us know what you think!

Keep on getting better, Ryan and we'll see you soon!!

Until next time, this is Cohen and Ward, signing out.

---Click here for Photos---

Posted By: Seth and Luke at 6:27 PM---Click to comment---Links to this post---


	13. Chapter 13

Obvious FYI: I don't own anything that even remotely has to do with The O.C.!

Thank you for reviewing! Please keep them coming!

-------------

Two days later, Ryan and Kirsten left St. Francis. It was another sad goodbye, as all of the therapists, nurses, and doctors had obviously played such a huge role in Ryan's progress. They all promised they would keep reading the blog and posting to let the family know everyone was thinking about them.

Kirsten had began telling Ryan weeks ago about the move back to California. She was certain now that he understood what was happening and that he most likely wouldn't see the staff again. The doctors were happy with Ryan's ability to comprehend change and empathize with everyone saying goodbye to him. After multiple pictures of Ryan with the staff and Kirsten as well as of him leaving the rehab hospital, Ryan and Kirsten left for the airport in a taxi.

The airport had a wheelchair for Ryan to use as they made their way to the gate, walker and two suitcases in tow. Ryan was all bundled up including the hat, and the long sleeves on his jacket covered some of the hand brace. The two were ready for take off.

To Kirsten's surprise, Ryan wasn't as apprehensive about flying back to America then he was flying to Italy. She was hoping almost that another glimpse of the old Ryan would show, but the only phobia she witnessed was his semi-fearful feeling at the top of the escalator. At least he was still nervous about heights.

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"Ryan," Kirsten had said when they were on the last leg of their flights home. "Do you remember how I was telling you that you are going to see some friends when we get home?"

"Yesss," Ryan answered truthfully. Kirsten had started days ago letting Ryan know the plan.

"Ok, good. Well Sandy and Seth are going to be at the airport to pick us up. You are finally going to get to see them. Are you excited?"

"Yesss."

"Keep talking, Ryan. What do you think about going home?"

"Seeingg be goodd. Talkkk phoneee, seee pic of faces, but nottt touchh."

"Yes, that's right. They are going to hug you. Are you ok with that?"

"No likee touchh but ok…I knoww it cuz misss and likee so ok," Ryan said with a nod.

"That's very mature of you, Ryan," Kirsten laughed. "I know you don't want to be touched. But they will hug you. Will you hug them back?"

"Ok," Ryan answered and sipped some water.

-------------

Just as Kirsten predicted, Sandy and Seth were waiting at the gate to pick up Kirsten and Ryan.

"Ryan! Kirsten!" Sandy exclaimed as he jogged to the pair.

"Ryan! Mom!" Seth yelled as he followed his father.

Kirsten immediately kissed Sandy and Seth and Ryan stood a little behind, almost as if he didn't want to get in the way.

"Ryan! How are you feeling, kid? It's so good to finally see you!" Sandy said with a smile as he pulled Ryan into a hug. As he promised, Ryan hugged his foster-father back and felt secure which made Sandy happy. Sandy had talked to Ryan multiple times during their separation, but Ryan still wasn't too good at phone conversations, as he couldn't see the other person and was easily distracted.

"Hey, Bro!" Seth said as he gave Ryan a one-armed hug. "You look better than when I saw you last!"

To everyone's satisfaction, Ryan gave an understanding smile and replied, "Thankkk for blogg. I kneww gnommee was no realll."

Seth laughed loudly. "Dude, you got that? That's awesome!"

"I told you, Ryan's really into the blog! He'll repeat some comments to his therapists. Sometimes they have him re-copy some of the comments," Kirsten said proudly as she patted Ryan's shoulder.

"Let's get going, then on that note. You two deserve some warm air!" Sandy said picking up one suitcase as Seth took the other.

-------------

The family finally made it to the driveway in Newport and got Ryan's walker out of the back of the car and they made their way slowly up the walkway and into the house. When Sandy opened the front door, a small group yelled, 'Welcome home!'

Ryan was stunned when he saw all the faces. He was confused as to why they were all in his house. He was so tired from the long day and was not fond of being woken up in the car. All he wanted to do was rest.

Everyone started talking at once. Ryan was looking all around quickly at the voices. At least they were all speaking English. The doctors told the Cohens to limit Ryan's guests to his close friends only to avoid over-stimulating the fragile teen, and by the looks of Ryan's reaction, the five new people were just enough.

Sandy held off the group. "Ryan, it's ok. They're here to say hi to you. Do you remember them? Take a good look. I'm right here, I promise it's ok."

Ryan did as his guardian suggested. He looked at the younger people on his right. She was familiar. Summer, he decided her name was. He knew the boy as Luke, the other friend who wrote the blog. The third classmate was memorable, too. Yes, she was his neighbor, Marissa he thought her name must be. Over to his left he saw two figures, but he had to move his head to see them properly. The woman was Marissa's mother. Julie is what people called her, Ryan remembered. Finally, the older man standing near Julie looked like Kirsten. He stared for a moment. Nicol, he finally settled on. Caleb Nicol.

Ryan nodded to Sandy.

"Good, can you come say hi now?" Sandy asked, putting his hand on Ryan's shoulder. He had many days worth of parenting to make up for and he was glad Ryan was so receptive.

Ryan nodded again and walked with the walker farther into the house.

"Heyyy. Whha alll doo here?" Ryan gave a look of confusion, clearly stating his mood.

Luke laughed out loud. "Seth, I think we got choices a, b, and c!" he said referring to the blog poll.

"How are you feeling, Ryan?" Marissa asked timidly as she tried to put her hand on Ryan's left shoulder.

Ryan pulled away. Not only did he not see her come up on his limited-vision left side, but she took him off guard when she nicked his balance.

"Ryan, why don't you come sit down?" Seth asked as he slowly guided Ryan to the couch. Everyone made space as Ryan walked with the walker across the room.

"We've missed you, Chino!" Summer said to Ryan as she sat down next to him. Ryan didn't respond and looked around the room. "Chino, are you ok?" She gently nudged his right shoulder.

"Chinno?" Ryan answered. Was she talking to him? Wasn't he Ryan Atwood?

"Uh, yah. That's what I call you. You know…Chino because you're from—" Summer was cut off by Seth.

"So bro, what's it like to be back here? Ready to take a nap in your pool house?" Seth quickly changed the subject.

Kirsten and Sandy had decided to tell Ryan that they were his foster-parents, to be honest with him. He asked once about his mother and Kirsten replied that she wasn't here anymore and that Ryan had lived with her, Seth, and Sandy now for the last few months. That was enough for him. He remembered after the reminder. The doctors advised them to only tell Ryan the minute details of his past if he asked. They were not to lead him on or lie to him, just make him feel comfortable, confident, and safe.

Luckily Ryan answered Seth's question, forgetting about Summer. "Yesss. Tireddd. Sleepp in pool…houssse. Pool houssse. Not water," Ryan corrected and laughed.

-------------

The walk to the pool house wasn't any farther than Ryan had been practicing at St. Francis, and Sandy, Kirsten, and Seth helped guide Ryan outside, just for a visit, not to stay. It was important, the doctors said, for Ryan to get re-acclimated as soon as he could. Although he was only going to be home for three days, it was good for Ryan to remember his past.

Ryan immediately headed for his bed. The smell of the sheets reminded him of his many nights in the pool house and he smiled, another 'oh yeah' moment. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he was out. Sandy tucked the blankets around Ryan as he watched him sleep. Not wanting to leave him alone, Sandy, Kirsten, and Seth sat on the couch and talked quietly. The other guests had left after calmly coming in to say goodbye, promising to check in later.

Ryan woke up a few hours later. He looked around the pool house and he smiled as he saw the walker next to the bed with Kirsten asleep on the couch and Seth and Sandy snoozing on the floor with extra pillows. Ryan knew they cared about him and they were helping him, despite his injury. He didn't know what he did to deserve such behavior, but he was grateful. He closed his eyes and fell back asleep with a satisfied smile on his face.


	14. Chapter 14

Obvious FYI: I don't own anything that even remotely has to do with The O.C.!

Thank you for reviewing! Please keep them coming!

-------------

The next time Ryan woke up, Kirsten was sitting next to his bed reading a magazine. She herself looked tired, but perked up when she saw him stir.

"Hey, Ryan. How are you feeling?" Kirsten asked gently as she smoothed Ryan's hair.

"Fine," Ryan replied, but continued, expecting Kirsten's follow up question. "Headd hurtt."

"Ok, honey, I know. Lets get you inside, have some breakfast, and take your medicine, ok?"

"Ok," Ryan replied and slowly sat up. He steadied himself as the quick bout of dizziness subsided and he then stood for the walker as practiced many times.

Seth and Sandy were already awake and were awaiting Ryan. Sandy got the medication while Kirsten prepared some applesauce and toast. Since Ryan's face was so swollen for so long, he hadn't eaten much solid food, as it was hard for him to open his mouth wide enough and chewing irritated his stitches. Since he was on a feeding tube for a long period of time, Ryan's body needed time to adjust to real food, so bland meals came first.

"So, Ry. How'd you like your first night back home?" Seth asked as he plopped himself in the chair next to Ryan.

"Goodd. I know you sleepp onn floor. Comfy?" Ryan answered smiling, remembering last night.

"Oh it was comfy, bro. Don't you worry. So comfy in fact I decided to get up and go back to my own room," Seth replied jokingly.

"Oh. Sorry," Ryan answered and picked at his applesauce.

"Come on, I was kidding! Come on, you know floors aren't meant to be slept on…when there's bed calling your name," Seth stood up for himself.

"Joke. Righttt," Ryan replied nodding his head. After his final bite of the toast, he turned to Kirsten. "Ccann we go walkk now?"

The doctors suggested frequent exercise, within reason and his abilities. Walking to the end of the driveway and back was on the list.

"Sure," Kirsten replied, clearing Ryan's plate. "Do you want to go with him?" she turned to Sandy and Seth.

It wasn't that Kirsten didn't want to walk with Ryan, she just figured her husband and son should get as much interaction with Ryan as possible before he went to Weldon. Besides, she was exhausted and was thinking about lying down and continuing reading her magazine.

"Sure, you ready, kid?" Sandy asked as he walked towards Ryan.

"Yesss. I gett up no helpp. Thankk," Ryan stated as Sandy went to help Ryan stand up from the chair. It was true that he needed only supervision in standing but any Ryan, injured or healthy, wouldn't ask for help anyways.

-------------

The threesome made it down the driveway and Ryan rested on the curb. As he stood up to grab the walker again, he noticed Marissa approaching them.

"Oh, hi. I was just coming to say hi this morning," Marissa addressed the three.

"Hi," Ryan replied, looking at her intently. Something was bothering him about her, but he couldn't decide what.

"How are you feeling, Ryan?" Marissa asked hesitantly, noticing his expression.

"Goodd," Ryan replied and moved closer to the girl.

"Uh, we'll let you guys talk for a second. We'll be right over here," Sandy said as he pulled Seth to the side just a bit. They were far away enough to simulate some sort of privacy, but close enough to stop trouble should it occur.

"So how does it feel to be back home? Sorry we didn't talk much yesterday, you fell asleep so soon! I don't blame you. Summer and Luke want to come by later if that's ok." She stopped her rambling as she noticed his confused expression again.

"'Rissa," Ryan stammered out.

"Yes, Ryan. It's me, Marissa…don't you remember me?" Marissa asked, fear creeping up in her stomach.

"Yesss. Neighborr."

"Yah, that's right. Do you remember anything, uh, else?" Marissa tried to coax something out of Ryan.

"You say I live Bosstonn," Ryan replied shortly.

Marissa thought for a moment. "Oh! I did say that, didn't I? We were standing right here, when we first met. You remember that?"

"Yesss. Why surprise?" Ryan responded. As Seth told her, his memory was either perfect or splotchy.

"Oh, well, I don't know. I didn't even remember that myself," she laughed.

"We friend?" Ryan asked suddenly.

Marissa stared at him. "Yes, Ryan. We've been friends since you lived with the Cohens…recently we've been, well, more than friends." Did he really not remember her like that?

That got Ryan's attention. "More?" he said, racking his brain for detailed memories.

"Yah, more. Look, how about we get you back inside. I can tell you are tired. Can I walk back with you?"

"Ok. How more?"

Marissa remembered Seth's comments a few days previous. _He's not going to do anything for you. This is about him. _She'd have to change her approach. "Well, can I tell you some stories about us?"

"Ok. Lets walk," Ryan replied. The two made their way back up the driveway. Seth and Sandy had heard everything and were happy to see the two talking.

"Well there was this one time at a carnival…" Marissa could be heard as she laid a gentle hand on Ryan's right shoulder. This was about _him_.

-----------

Ryan woke up from a nap on the couch a few hours later. Exhaustion still came easily to him and the medication he took made him drowsy. As he was coming back into consciousness, he heard the phone ring with Kirsten answering it.

"Hey, Ryan?" Kirsten began as she noticed Ryan awake and sitting up. She came towards the couch with the phone on hold and against her shoulder. "Ryan this is Luke on the phone. He is asking if he can come over to see you today. He'd like to bring Summer with him. Do you feel up to seeing Luke and Summer later today?"

Ryan thought for a moment. He liked those two. He'd like to talk to them. "Ok."

Kirsten smiled and went back into the kitchen to finish the phone conversation.

About four hours later, Luke and Summer rang the doorbell. Ryan answered it, walker in hand, with Seth lurking behind.

"Oh, hey Ryan!" Summer exclaimed as she entered the house. Seth had told her not to call Ryan 'Chino' yet.

"Hey, Ryan. Good to see you," Luke said honestly as he followed Summer.

"Hi, frienddsss," Ryan said with a smile.

Kirsten, Sandy, Seth, Luke, Summer, and Ryan sat outside and talked until Ryan began to fall asleep in his chair. They reiterated to Ryan everything that had happened in the past six months in Newport, but it wasn't to jog his memory, as Ryan remembered everything. It was a recollection of events. Some were happy, some funny, some sad, and some trying, but they all served the purpose to remind Ryan what he was coming home to.

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Story is coming to an end soon! Thanks for staying with me so long!


	15. Chapter 15

Obvious FYI: I don't own anything that even remotely has to do with The O.C.!

Thank you for reviewing! Please keep them coming!

-------------

The next day was moving day for Ryan. Sandy and Kirsten let Seth out of school so he could be with the rest of the family as they brought Ryan to Weldon Rehabilitation Hospital in Carson, California. Although the drive was a good hour, it seemed to go by so quickly. They only had one full day and two half-days with Ryan and it seemed like a tease. But, the doctors and therapists at St. Francis did say that Ryan wouldn't be at Weldon for too long, provided he continue to improve at his amazing rate.

"You visit?" Ryan asked as the car pulled into the Weldon driveway. He was like a kid nervous on his first day of school.

"Of course, bro. Trust us. We're not leaving you. We'll all be together again," Seth replied, touching Ryan's right shoulder. Seth had no idea how much that meant to Ryan. "And plus, when I visit, it will give me more hard evidence for the blog. Right?"

Ryan laughed. "Rightt."

Sandy helped Ryan out of the car while Kirsten and Seth took Ryan's belongings out of the trunk. The therapists encouraged street clothes as opposed to hospital gowns because it helped simulate a normal environment. The Cohens made sure Ryan had all his 'normal' things he needed.

"Hello! You must be the Cohens," a nurse at the reception desk greeted with a genuine smile. It was a bit of déjà vu from last month when they brought Ryan to the St. Francis rehab department.

The doctors wanted to meet with all four of them before Sandy, Seth, and Kirsten left for home. They all headed for the private conference room.

"Ok, as I mentioned, we would like to discuss Ryan's goals for his time here. Obviously he has progressed remarkably well for someone with his injury in such little time. They must do great work over there in Venice! What did you think of Italy, Ryan?" one doctor, Dr. Mingo, asked.

Ryan thought for a moment. "No English," he decided matter of factually. Everyone laughed.

"I heard about the blog your brother started about you. What do you think of that?" the doctor continued.

Ryan laughed. "Blog good. Funny. They all tell me get better, so I do and they like. They talk to me when I'm not there."

"That's great! We're all going to start to read it, too. You've got some great friends out there," Dr. Mingo smiled.

"Yesss. I know," Ryan answered and laughed.

"Ryan are you still having headaches?" the other doctor, Dr. Lartigue, continued after the chatter stopped.

Ryan nodded. Noticing Kirsten's look he elaborated. "Here and here," Ryan continued, pointing to his left ear and the bridge of his nose.

Dr. Lartigue nodded. "We are going to fit you for glasses tomorrow. That should help you with the headache between your eyes. Has your vision been blurry?"

"Don't see nnice here," Ryan replied, pointing to his left eye.

Dr. Lartigue smiled softly. "I'm sorry about that. How do your right arm and right hand feel?"

Ryan looked at the doctors for a minute. They actually seemed interested in him. Why? Ryan looked at his left hand and clenched and opened his fist.

"Honey, your other side," Kirsten gently reminded Ryan as she patted the brace on Ryan's right hand.

"Yesss. Arm slow…hand no flat," Ryan decided was the best way to convey his feelings. It was true that his fingers would always have a bit of a curl, but his hand dexterity was getting better at St. Francis and the therapists were eager to continue his training.

"Ok. The therapists in Italy say you are getting better, though. Do you feel like you are improving?" Dr. Mingo contributed.

"Yesss."

"Why? What makes you think you are getting better?" Dr. Mingo was interested in seeing what Ryan made of the situation.

Ryan thought for a moment. "No wwheelchair."

"That's right. You're doing quite well with the walker. Do you notice anything else?" Dr. Mingo coaxed.

"I do reg thing. People say good. Say talk mmore is good, so I do and they like. Write nnice," Ryan replied with a shrug. He was just doing normal things and everyone was telling him he was doing well, so why not continue?

"That's great. Everyone is right. You're doing quite well," Dr. Mingo smiled.

"We are hoping that Ryan will use a cane when he leaves us at Weldon. We want him to be as independent as possible while being safe and not a fall risk. He will have balance issues as you have heard before, but we will get him to adapt the best he can. Balance is part practice part confidence," Dr. Lartigue continued, addressing Sandy and Kirsten. "His case file also says that his stuttering has lessened. That is obviously apparent, but in speech therapy they will focus on grammar and usage and de-jumble his brain so to speak. His right side is clearly affected and he will continue to strengthen it. Our goals are strength, safety, and getting him to as close to his previous abilities as possible. Do you have any questions?"

"How long will he be here?" Sandy asked right away. "The other doctors said not very long."

"That depends on his progress. If he continues at the impressive rate he is, I'd say were looking only at a few months, two maybe," Dr. Mingo answered.

"What about school?" Kirsten asked hesitantly. No one had even touched that subject.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Dr. Lartigue spoke. "Lets see how he progresses."

"When are visiting hours?" Seth asked as soon as he could. "Cuz now that's he's like, an hour away, trust me, people are going to be banging down the door."

Everyone smiled. "Visiting hours are from eight AM to eight PM. Just be quiet and you can let them all come in," Dr. Mingo answered laughing.

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ATWOOD AT LARGE

_Where Seth and Luke get an A and We Tell You About Ryan's Day_

January 18

West Side

So we know we've been offline for a few days…but never fear, we are back with a bang. We would like to first announce that Mr. Winslow gave us an 'exceeds expectations' on our first checkpoint for the computer project. We were talking and that was probably the first time we've ever exceeded anyone's expectations in school…so we thank you, Ry. We got extra for those pictures of you!

And yes, as we're sure you've all heard, Ryan Atwood is back on the west coast and he looks great! He remembered everyone and was very well oriented as well. He's doing great with the walker, too which makes him happy to move around freely. He's happy, we're happy. Some visitors came by Saturday and he was glad to talk with them and everyone commented on how positive he seemed. He was at home until Sunday and went to Weldon in Carson on Monday morning. There are some more pictures below of Ryan at home and at the rehab center!

Weldon, Weldon, Weldon. Where do we begin? We think Ryan might have landed on the psych ward (he didn't, don't go crazy). Down the hall is Buddy, the Vietnam vet who challenges people to races down the hall with his wheelchair, despite the nurses' scolding. Ryan just stared and then rolled his eyes at the guy when they met. I think Buddy got the hint. A few hours later, we saw a thirty-year-old patient named Jerry wandering the halls, passing out pamphlets about MS from the front desk. It's going to be an interesting couple of months, dear Ryan.

Ryan has a big day tomorrow. He will meet his roommate first of all. We can only hope he's an improvement on Buddy and Jerry! Secondly, he is due for some glasses. We can't wait to see what his reaction is. In all seriousness, we hope it helps his headaches and eases the strain on his left eye, but we also can't wait to see Ryan The Studious. We promise pictures soon. All part of the process.

We now have a special update: From The King himself!

Hellooo..!! to all of you nice people out there......So people there are so many of you out there reading!!! but thanks....Kirsten reads every! Blogggg is very FUNny and makes me get better!! Won't be long!! THANKs for messagesss! goodbye for now all of my computer friends  
LOVE ME RYAN!!

Well, there you have it. Ryan may have improved verbally, but his computer skills…lets say he needs to take Computer Concepts with us!

Keep on getting better, Ryan and we'll see you soon!!

Until next time, this is Cohen and Ward, signing out.

---Click here for Photos---

Posted By: Seth and Luke at 3:21 PM---Click to comment---Links to this post---


	16. Chapter 16

Obvious FYI: I don't own anything that even remotely has to do with The O.C.!

Thank you for reviewing! Please keep them coming!

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"Alright, Ryan time to wake up!" a pleasant nurse sang as she drew open the blinds in Ryan's room.

Ryan groaned. "Sun not welcome," he mumbled into the pillow.

"I know, honey I'm sorry. You're getting your glasses today, remember?" the nurse continued as she began changing the date on the calendar on the wall.

Ryan thought for a moment. "Yesss. I go from one eye to three eyes."

The nurse laughed. "I guess you could say that. They're going to bring your breakfast in soon and then you're due downstairs in half an hour. Sound good?"

"Fine," Ryan replied. "Coffee?"

"You drink coffee?" the nurse asked in surprise. "Honey, you're too young for that. You've got the rest of your life to depend on caffeine."

"I like coffee. Can I drink some today? Please?" Ryan sat up in his bed.

"I'll see what I can do," the nurse said smiling. "Do you need help going to the bathroom?"

"No. I do alone long while," Ryan said in a tone as if to say 'duh, didn't you ready my case file?'

"Ok, let someone know if you need anything. I'll see if I can pull some coffee strings," the nurse answered kindly and walked out the door.

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An hour later Ryan was called into the optometrist's office. Weldon was in the same building as a Carson clinic and often patients of the rehab center were referred to specialists. Sandy had taken a break from work to come speak with the doctors.

"Alright, Ryan. You ready to begin?" the optometrist asked as he sat down across the table from Ryan.

"Yesss. Eyes ready," Ryan answered, eager to begin.

After a forty-five minute long testing session, Ryan's prescription was determined. It was apparent that in addition to the limited vision in his left eye, he was also experiencing occasional double vision and slight blurs on his left side. When Sandy asked about why he never told anyone the seriousness of the problem, Ryan had shrugged and said he didn't think it was that bad. Typical Ryan.

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Sandy and Ryan left the clinic and returned to the rehab hospital. The doctors said they would deliver the glasses once the frames were ready, some time within the next few hours.

By the time the two made it back upstairs, Ryan's roommate had arrived.

The boy looked only a few years older than Ryan. His head looked like it had been shaved as Ryan's did, although in the past month, Ryan's hair had grown back a bit. The boy was skinny but looked athletic. He turned and looked right at Sandy and Ryan as they walked in.

"Are you Ryan?"

"Yah, are you Adam?" Ryan replied.

"Yah. You're sixteen?" Adam thought he looked older.

"Yah. You're ttwenty-one?" Ryan thought he looked younger.

"Yah," Adam confirmed.

"Cool," Ryan nodded.

"Cool," finished Adam.

The woman Adam was with smiled and shook her head at the boys.

"Hi, I'm Sharon Lindsay, Adam's mother. You must be Sandy and Ryan?" Mrs. Lindsay tried to recall what the nurses had told her.

"Yes, hi. Sandy Cohen. Nice to meet you," Sandy greeted, shaking her hand. He turned to Adam. "Nice to meet you, too, Adam. I'm Ryan's father."

"Hi. My dad is here, too. He went down the hall for something but he'll be back," Adam replied with a confident nod.

"Ok," Ryan replied and made his way with the walker to his own bed. He was still easily tired.

Soon enough, Mr. Lindsay entered the room and greeted the group. He was a tall man and looked just like his son. Sandy couldn't help but think back to his Berkley days when he met his college roommate and his family. It was a bit awkward but felt safe at the same time.

"Hi, Jan Lindsay," the man said confidently as he shook Sandy's hand. Sandy returned the greeting and introduced Ryan.

"Hi. Nice to mmeet you," Ryan stuck out his hand. Although his right hand was still weak, it had been worked enough in OT that he could get a decent handshake out of it.

"Dad did you find—" Adam began, only to be silenced by his father.

"Keep it down, Adam," Jan whispered with a smile.

Before he could explain anymore, a young girl who looked Adam's age walked in the room carrying what looked like a bundle of blankets. She shut the door quietly behind her and bent down to the ground and let open the pile she was holding. To Sandy and Ryan's surprise, a puppy jumped out and ran towards Adam.

"Kai! Come here, Kai!" Adam called the dog quietly. The Black Lab puppy obediently made its way to her owner and nuzzled her nose into Adam.

"He misses you already!" the girl spoke.

"Everyone this is my girlfriend Leanne," Adam explained while the dog began to lick his hands.

"Nice to meet you all. I think these two are in for an interesting few months," Leanne said, saying what everyone was thinking.

The group stayed around for lunch and were interrupted by the arrival of the doctor with Ryan's glasses.

"I think it's time for Mr. Atwood to see straight again," the doctor said as she knocked on the door. Everyone turned around.

"Yay glasses," Ryan answered, earning a smile from the group.

"You ready to try them on?" Dr. Lartigue asked as she handed Ryan the case.

Ryan made his way over to the mirror and slowly put on the new pair. He was embarrassed at first to have everyone starting at him, but he was comfortable now with the crowd in the room so he confidently looked himself in the mirror. Not bad, he thought. Wait until Seth sees these. He turned around.

"Looks good, kid!" Sandy exclaimed honestly. It was a different direction from Kid Chino but at the same time, that personality wasn't swallowed up. The glasses were perfect.

"Ryan how do you feel with those on? How are your eyes?" Dr. Lartigue asked, taking the case from her patient.

"I see clear. Nice," Ryan replied with a nod.

"Well they look nice, too, so we're in business!" Dr. Lartigue smiled at her patient and Sandy.

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By the late afternoon, Sandy had returned to finish out his workday (after taking multiple pictures of Ryan) and the Lindsays and Leanne had gone back home.

"Your ffamily is nice," Ryan told his roommate when they were alone.

"Thanks. Your dad is cool," Adam replied.

"He's no my dad," Ryan suddenly said.

"He's not? Well he does have a different last name…why did he say he was your dad?"

"He is foster-father. But I like him and rest of family," Ryan replied as if it was common knowledge.

"So where's your real dad?" Adam was confused and it was irritating him. He hated being lost and that's all he seemed to be as of late. Adam was bike riding without a helmet when the back tire of his bike was hit by a car. Adam went over the handle bars and woke up six days later. He still had a lot to regain. Verbally he was great and his cognition was coming back, but his motor control and coordination was weak and needed much improvement.

Ryan thought for a moment. "He's…" Ryan recalled back. Where _was_ his dad? They hadn't been together in a long while. Why? Kirsten said he was only living with them for a few months, but it had been longer since he'd seen Frank. Why would he leave?

"Ryan?" Adam was curious now.

Suddenly it hit Ryan. "Jail."

"Your dad's in _jail_?" Adam gawked.

"Yah, I guess…he is…He lives in Chchino. _I_ lived in Chino," Ryan stammered out, more talking to himself than Adam.

Adam stared at Ryan, watching the younger patient rake through his rough memory. A smile appeared across Ryan's face then faded.

"But you live in Newport," Adam added before Ryan could continue. "You just remembered that. Right?"

Ryan nodded. He was missing a whole other life. "They never told me again," Ryan realized. He would ask about that as soon as he could.

"Well Sandy great seem. You came into a good family then wherever you came from," Adam pointed out before Ryan could get too worked up.

That was true, Sandy was great. "They take care of me and like me. Thatss really ggood. Wwait until you meet Sseth my foster-brotherr."

"You have a Leanne and a Kai?" Adam suddenly asked.

Ryan processed the comment. "A girlfriend and dog?"

Adam nodded. Didn't he just say that?

"No dog…and no……wait." Ryan stopped talking. His mind went racing back to a few days prior when Marissa was explaining about how they were 'more than friends.' There was the Ferris wheel that she talked about. And that date. And she…

"Wow. I _do_ have a Leanne," Ryan said, almost as if he was talking to no one in particular. Why didn't anyone tell him any of this? But then again, would he have understood? Had they?

"Do you remember anything about her?" Adam was interested.

"She coming to visit on Ssaturday. You meet her then. Have Leanne come…'Rissa and her talk about makeup and stuff she does," Ryan decided as if he was scheduling a play date.

The two were silent for a few minutes, then Ryan spoke up again.

"Guess what? I have a blogg."

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ATWOOD AT LARGE

_Where Seth and Luke get an A and We Tell You About Ryan's Day_

January 19

Foresight

Hello again, everyone. Thank you for all the comments as usual, but this time thank you again for the two-hundred seventy-six replies to Ryan's posting! He had a lot of fun doing that, as you can tell by his excellent demonstration of caps lock and exclamation points.

Ryan did indeed get his glasses today! And, courtesy of Sandy Cohen this time, we have the pictures to show you of our little bookworm. Actually, you'd be surprised. If glasses would allow it, they still show his inner bad boy. Ryan already told the doctor that his headaches have lessened and his double vision has calmed. The strain on his left eye should be helped as well. One more hurdle crossed, Buddy!

In other big news, Ryan met his roommate, Adam Lindsay today along with his family and girlfriend. Shout out to them as well! They are from West Carson, so not far. Pictures of the Lindsay clan are below, too! They also brought someone to say hi. We are censoring this statement because we know hospital administrators read this…Kai saw Adam off…There might be a picture or two of our pawed friend.

Ryan starts therapy again tomorrow. Although it's uncertain of his exact leaving date, it will probably be within two months. He is making great progress as you all know, but they want to make sure he's safe and won't regress when he gets back home. Get ready for more postings!

We will try to have The King update soon, probably tomorrow or the next day, so stay tune! Speaking of updates…Adam was a Computer Graphics major at UCLA before his injury…Ryan of course told him about our blog and Adam wants to do some consulting. Fine by us. Hopefully Mr. Winslow will let us have another guest blogger…You'll defiantly know the difference.

Keep on getting better, Ryan and we'll see you soon!!

Until next time, this is Cohen and Ward, signing out.

---Click here for Photos---

Posted By: Seth and Luke at 6:29 PM---Click to comment---Links to this post---


	17. Chapter 17

Obvious FYI: I don't own anything that even remotely has to do with The O.C.!

Thank you for reviewing! Please keep them coming!

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By the time Saturday came around, Ryan was exhausted from therapy. And he thought St. Francis was tough! By now the therapists had him talking a little more fluidly. They video taped him talking freely and then repeating sentences so he could see and hear the differences between correct and incorrect speech. Once he saw how much his communication varied, he began to check himself when he spoke. It was a trade off—slower cadence for correct grammar and usage.

Physical therapy had him balancing on foam mats. For someone with a vestibular issue such as Ryan's, that meant big trouble. Ryan had mastered standing alone on solid ground, so the PT's decided it was time to change the surface and challenge the motivated teen. Despite his improved eyesight, an unstable surface still presented problems. Yet just as he had with every other exercise thrown at him, Ryan kept improving and by the end of the first week, he could stand for five seconds before holding on to the parallel bars. Soon he would graduate to a cane once they were confident he wouldn't be a fall risk.

OT kept him busy as well, both mentally and physically. One activity in particular that Ryan found 'annoy' was a matching game. He had to recreate pictures and patterns with multi-colored blocks. The longer he took setting up the picture, the more frustrated he became. They were teaching him to calm himself down and not get upset at little road-blocks, and soon he became more comfortable with the challenges.

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Ryan and Adam were looking forward to Saturday. Not only were their families coming, but Saturday meant no therapies. Sure enough, around ten in the morning, the company arrived.

Adam was talking eagerly with his parents about the past week's activities while Sandy and Kirsten chatted with Ryan. They both noticed that he seemed more alert than when they last saw him.

"I remember Frank," Ryan simply stated. Kirsten and Sandy exchanged glances, unsure of how to handle the subject.

"What do you remember about him?" Sandy began, trying to sound as innocent as possible.

"Why didn't you remind me?" Ryan replied, more out of curiosity than accusation.

"Honey we didn't want to make you upset. We didn't lie to you, we just were waiting for you to bring it up. We wanted you to be as calm as possible," Kirsten followed.

"I know he is in jail. I remember Dawn, too. She got drunk that one time…" Ryan spaced out in thought. Kirsten and Sandy didn't know what to think. They were sad that Ryan was remembering such a troubling time, but happy that he was recalling his past.

"Honey, the important thing is that you are safe now and you have a family you can count on," Kirsten said. She wanted to make Ryan as assured as possible.

"I know. Adam noticed, too. Thank you," Ryan replied with a embarrassed smile.

"Kid, you don't have to thank us. We'll be here no matter what. We're going nowhere, and neither are you. You're doing so well. So many people care about you, Ryan. Do you know how many people read the blog? People at work ask me about you all the time, too. Just because there are two bad people in your life doesn't mean that you're out for good. The whole world's behind you, kid," Sandy finished with an honest smile on his face.

Ryan returned the grin. He didn't say anything, but his relaxed face spoke volumes.

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Marissa and Seth arrived within ten minutes of Leanne and soon room 228 was quite crowded.

"Hey, Ryan, do you want to go for a walk?" Marissa asked after the idle chatter stopped.

Ryan looked at Sandy and Kirsten who nodded in approval. "Ok," he replied.

The couple walked down the hall and onto the long balcony where they saw a few other patients out enjoying the sun.

"So Seth told me you, ah, remembered some more about us…" she began, not knowing how to start.

"You are my Leanne," Ryan replied simply. Marissa thought for a moment and then realized he was just making an association.

"I guess you could say that, yah," she laughed. "Then you are my Adam, right?"

Ryan gave her a confused look, and then realized she was exactly right. "Yesss. I guess you cold say that, yah," he mocked Marissa who laughed.

"I don't know how much detail you remember, but lets try to put the big drama behind us, ok? I mean, we've had a lot of good times, and I want to, well, you know, build from there," Marissa stammered out. _This is about him_. Seth's voice kept playing in her head.

"I know we had bad thingss between us," Ryan said at length, wanting his sentences to be perfect. "But we are restarting from the ggood, right?"

"That's right." Marissa paused for a minute. "What's something good you remember, Ryan?"

Ryan looked at his girlfriend with a satisfied smirk.

"Kissing is good," Ryan suggested, raising his eyebrows in temptation.

"Not here! There's like people here who don't want that, Ryan," Marissa said in between her teeth in a hushed voice.

"Ha. True. But I am The King, and they know it," Ryan replied. Touché.

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That night, Ryan and Adam were overtired from their guests and couldn't sleep. They were up talking and then Ryan suddenly had an idea. Seth had told them about the huge TV in the staff lounge that he had seen when he and Marissa were walking to Ryan's room. 'Dude, they've got it made in there,' Seth had said.

"Adam, you want to go check out the TV they have there?" Ryan asked, suddenly sitting up.

Adam knew just what Ryan meant. "Dude I was waiting for you to say that. If anyone asks, it was your idea."

The two quietly made it out of bed. It was an interesting sight, Ryan and Adam both using walkers and sneaking down the hall. They were almost to the door when they saw Jerry, the stroke patient with the MS pamphlets from the front desk, lurking the halls.

"Ryan and Adam! Room 228. You aren't supposed to be up!" Jerry whispered.

"Neither are you, Jerry, room something other than 228," Adam replied shortly, surprising Jerry.

"I'm going to tell on you. You can't be up this late," Jerry persisted. Ryan looked at the lounge door a hundred feet away.

"Dude, hhow oldd are you? No one 'tells' on annyone anymore," Ryan scolded, but immediately regretted it as he saw Jerry getting worked up. "Uh, I meann, that was very smart of you to remind us, right, Addam?"

Adam got the hint. "Yah. We needed telling. Speaking of that…tell us some more facts about MS…I seem to have forgotten all the ones you told me. What's that pamphlet say?"

"Oh, well MS. In that case. We can talk about MS. Well it's an autoimmune disease and—"

Ryan cut Jerry off. "Kkeep talking. But you hhave to be quiet. We're ggoing to walk down hall, and we can still here you, but you have to talk quietly."

Ryan and Adam began creeping down the hallway towards the lounge leaving poor Jerry 'talking' to them about the MS pamphlets.

"Dude, the door's open," Adam noticed.

"That's because I'm walking out. Hello, boys," Dr. Potenza stood tall before them.

"Shit," Ryan automatically said under his breath.

"I'm assuming you're here to watch our famous TV?" the doctor continued.

Adam's face had guilt all over it. "No, we were just wondering what kind of furniture you used and—"

"Save it, Lindsay. Back to bed. You, too, Atwood," Dr. Potenza scolded.

The boys looked at the doctor in surprise. He used to be the coolest one on the floor. If you were going to get caught, get caught by him.

"Busted," Adam admitted in defeat.

"Oh come on, I'm not that mean, am I?" Dr. Potenza faked being hurt.

"What?" asked Ryan, now thoroughly confused.

"Look, the TV's yours until I return from walking poor Jerry back to his room, but only if you promise never to do this again. Deal?" the doctor drove an easy bargain.

"Deal," Ryan and Adam replied in unison.

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ATWOOD AT LARGE

_Where Seth and Luke get an A and We Tell You About Ryan's Day_

January 23

Laid-out

So everyone, as we're sure you've noticed, we have a new layout, courtesy, of course, of Ryan's roommate, Adam Lindsay. Not only are we back with style, we are back with more great progress from The King.

They are going to start him using the cane next week! He understands that it will be a hard adjustment, but I think he's tired of looking like an old man with a walker, so bring it on! He still does all these balance exercises which obviously get harder and harder so it keeps him on his toes—pun intended. His right arm strength also is improving in PT. They say he's pretty much reached his full strength as far as that's concerned so maintenance and repetition is the key there.

Some of the OT games and crosswords still get to him. They're trying to teach him to meditate when he gets frustrated, which will work because we all know Ryan is the next Buddha. In theory it's good, but in reality, lets just say his chi will not be centered…

Here's an update from the King himself:

HELlloooo all you out there world!! Thank thank thank you to everyone who writes!! I KNOW there are people who care about Me! I LOve when the blog is posteddd because I gett to read about how everyone thinks I'm going good!!! See you All soon!!!  
LOVE ME RYAN!!!

Again, he's all about the caps lock and exclamation points. We told him to write a serious message, but he gets too excited and doesn't re-read his posts. But it really means a lot to him and keeps him connected which is what he totally needs!

Keep on getting better, Ryan and we'll see you soon!!

Until next time, this is Cohen and Ward, signing out.

Posted By: Seth and Luke at 3:49 PM---Click to comment---Links to this post---

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Thanks so much for reading! The next post might take a few days…big weekend coming up! Epilogue to follow!


	18. Epilogue

Obvious FYI: I don't own anything that even remotely has to do with The O.C.!

Thank you so much for reviewing!

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ATWOOD AT LARGE

_Where Seth and Luke get an A and We Tell You About Ryan's Day_

May 29

Hindsight

So, fellow bloggers, we come to you with a heavy heart as we admit that this is our last posting of _Atwood at Large_, as our final write-up on this project is due Monday. It has been an awesome experience not just for us, but for Ryan as well. We are convinced that your support has catapulted his recovery and we cannot thank you enough! We have 589.57 hits each day! The only thing that can top this would be an A on this assignment…

We decided to conclude our excellent adventure with a 'before and after' comparison to prove how much Ryan has progressed and exceeded all of the doctors' and therapists' expectations.

In chronological order:

1. Before—When Ryan left St. Francis General Hospital for St. Francis Rehabilitation Hospital, he couldn't talk.

After—Ryan talks more than he ever did since moving to Newport last August. He speaks in full, clever, and normal sentences. His stutter is gone and if any grammatical issues occur (which isn't often), they happen only when he is tired.

2. Before—Ryan didn't have a blog, and the whole world was clueless to Ryan's progress.

After—We came along and shocked the blogging community with our innate sense of website design and our luckily-competent information gatherers and guest bloggers.

3. Before—Ryan's right hand was so bent and his fingers so curled that it hurt him to stretch them.

After—After wearing a brace for four months, his grip strength has dramatically increased, and although his fingers are still slightly curled, he can now pick up objects better than expected.

4. Before—Ryan was in a wheelchair for a while and barely had enough energy to sit up alone, but left Italy using a walker after finally re-learning how to stand.

After—Ryan now uses a cane, but only for balance. You can't even tell it's there he moves so well! The doctor he sees in Newport wants to get him to walk without it in the near future!

5. Before—Ryan struggled with word association, mixing up nouns with adjectives.

After—His cognition has drastically improved and he, like any normal teenager, will associate some situations with Kirsten-disapproved words.

6. Before—At St. Francis, Ryan's handwriting was worse than a three year-old's.

After—His writing is like a four year-old's. Just kidding. His handwriting is debatably more legible than before the accident.

7. Before—He had big issues with short-term memory.

After—It is rare how that he forgets what he is doing, what he just did, or what he is saying. If it happens, he just sits down and collects himself like the therapists taught him and he's back in business!

So as you can tell, Ryan has come so many miles on his journey to recovery. We can't say this enough, but we still think the surprise party we threw for him when he finally returned to Newport for good helped so much as well. He was finally able to see how many people read the blog and how much they truly cared for him. The signs on the highway exit also surprised him and we were so happy that he received the attention so well.

As you remember, he returned to school last month and has done great since then. The tutor is going to stay with him for the rest of the year and then in the fall he's going to try Harbor alone. But, we all know that he will never truly fly solo. After all, every King needs an entourage.

As our final thought, we want you to click below to see the awesome collage of photos Adam Lindsay made for us. He used his computer graphic skills (we're so happy for him that he still remembers) to put together all of the images we put up on this site since the garden scenes in January in Italy. It looks great! Thanks, man!

---Click Here For the Photo---

So for the last time, this is Cohen and Ward, signing out.

Posted By: Seth and Luke at 7:33 PM---Click to comment---Links to this post---

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So that's it! Thanks again for reading! Like I said in my other story, I'm a PT student, and much of this story is what I've read, learned, and seen first hand, including the stethoscope scene in Chapter 5. Thanks again!


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